Last Name
by GoDale13
Summary: Ziva and Tony meet four years before they truly meet, yet neither knows who the other is. What happens when she comes as Ari's control officer? TIVA COMPLETE
1. One night in Vegas

_Here's my new story ya'll! I hope you enjoy it!! This is based on Last Name by Carrie Underwood_

**Four Years Ago**

Ziva David had been working on assignment in the United States for over three months. Finally finishing up with her mission that morning, Ziva decided to head to the local bar and let loose. Ari had always warned her against doing so, but she told him not to worry. After all, it was the big brother's job to worry about his sister. Saying goodbye to him, Ziva left the hotel and walked to the closest bar to her hotel.

_Last night I got served a little too much of that poison baby  
Last night I did things I'm not proud of  
And I got a little crazy  
_

Not long after arriving at the bar, Ziva had already felt her tension release. She had downed two glasses of whisky and was already feeling the effects. Sitting at the bar and watching the group on the dance floor having fun was not what Ziva had in mind for the night. In fact, there was a man in the center of the dance floor that had caught Ziva's eye the moment he walked into the bar.

He was easily 6 foot, and had the body of a once athletic man. His dark brown hair, hung loosely, his green eyes, and wide smile drew Ziva closer to him. That smile alone seemed to melt Ziva, and he was not even looking in her direction. Finishing off her third glass, Ziva sucked up the courage to walk out onto the dance floor and meet this beautiful stranger

_Last night I met a guy on the dance floor  
And I let him call me baby_

_And I don't even know his last name  
Oh, my mama would be so ashamed  
It started off "Hey cutie, where ya from?"  
And then it turned in,  
"Oh no, what have I done?"  
And I don't even know his last name_

"Are you here with someone?" Ziva asked rolling onto her tiptoes to talk into the man's ear so he could understand her over the music.

"Depends, baby, are you?" the man asked, smiling at her with the classic smile that had probably swooned many a woman off her feet.

"I am now," Ziva smirked at the man as the two of them began to dance to the beat of the music. As the time flew by, the couple seemed to meld together better and better. "What is your name?" Ziva asked when they decided to take a break and grab a drink at the bar.

"Tony," the man said, taking a long swallow of his beer. "What's yours?"

"Ziva," Ziva smiled.

"You're not from around here are you?" Tony asked, noting Ziva's distinct accent.

"Israel," Ziva replied.

"Niii-ceee," Tony chuckled. "Here on business?" he asked and Ziva let out a small laugh.

"Just finished," Ziva said. "You?"

"In between jobs. Just quit one, and got a job at another. I'm moving Monday," Tony explained. He had been working in Baltimore for almost two years, but when the chance came to work in D.C. with a man named Gibbs, Tony jumped at the chance.

"Come here often?" Ziva asked, tapping her foot to the beat of the music still blaring throughout the barroom.

"Every chance I get," Tony said, winking at Ziva. There was something about this exotic beauty that made Tony want to get to know her better. "What do you say we get out of this place, Zee-vah?" he said, letting her name roll of his tongue.

"Only if you can keep up," Ziva said, standing up and let the double meaning sink into Tony's mind. It only took him a split second before he jumped off the stool and followed her out of the door.

_We left the club right around three o'clock in the morning  
His Pinto sitting there in the parking lot Well it should have been a warning  
I had no clue what I was getting into  
So I blame it on the Cuervo  
Oh where did my manners go?  
_

"Got a car?" Tony asked as they walked out of the crowded bar.

"Nope, I walked from my hotel," Ziva explained.

"Which hotel?" Tony asked, looking around. There were not that many hotels within close walking distance of the bar. He figured they could just go back there if Ziva wanted.

"None of your earwax," Ziva said.

"I think you mean beeswax," Tony said. "We can just head back to my apartment," he suggested and Ziva took his arm, signaling for him to lead on.

_  
And I don't even know his last name  
Oh, my mama would be so ashamed  
It started off "Hey cutie, where ya from?"  
And then it turned in,  
"Oh no, what have I done?"  
And I don't even know his last name  
Here we go... _

"Nice place," Ziva said, walking into the door that Tony held open for her. There were boxes stacked up around the place; it was obvious that Tony was packing up to move in a few days.

Tony just nodded his agreement before turning Ziva around to face him. Looking into her eyes for only the slightest of moments, Tony bent his head and crashed his lips into hers. Ziva 

retaliated by kissing with the same intensity. This was defiantly that something Ziva usually did, but this was not any normal man. There was something about his man that drew Ziva to him. Tony awkwardly led the couple towards his bedroom, trying not to break the passionate kiss the two were currently locked in. Successfully reaching the bedroom, Tony shut the door with his foot and threw Ziva onto the bed.

A while later, the two of them were lying on the bed each wrapped up in the sheets. Tony had his head perched on his arm, his elbow buried into the pillow and Ziva was laying much the same way, but facing Tony.

"Have you enjoyed the U.S.?" Tony asked her, making slow circles on her bare shoulder.

"Never got the chance to really see the country," Ziva admitted. Her mission was her first priority, and sightseeing had never entered into her mind.

"Well, we got all weekend, where do you wanna go?" Tony asked, smiling at her.

"Who said I have all weekend?" Ziva countered, smiling slightly at the man.

"Oh come on, where's one place that you've always wanted to go?" Tony asked, acting like a little kid excited about going to the toy store.

Ziva stared at him for a few seconds, trying to figure the man out, but soon gave up. "Las Vegas," she admitted.

"Let's go," Tony said, jumping out of the bed.

"Are you serious?!" Ziva asked, sitting up in the bed and watched the man pull his blue jeans on. "We cannot seriously go to the other side of the country for one night," she protested.

"Loosen up, Zee-vah," Tony said, pulling her out of the bed. "We're going to Las Vegas and partying!"

**The Next Morning**

Ziva groaned and rolled over to hide her face from the blazing sunlight. Her head felt like it weighted a ton, and her eyes felt just as bed. It was not until she felt a arm pull her closer that she woke up all the way. Turning around to see who the person was, Ziva recalled meeting the man- Tony, she thought was his name- in Maryland. Looking around, Ziva did not recognize the room they were in. It was defiantly not the room that Ziva had been staying on. Sitting up, Ziva went to rub her face to fully wake up, and felt something weird on her left hand.

"What the hell?" she whispered quietly. On her left hand was a huge diamond ring, looking at it, Ziva's mind flashed back to small scenes from the previous night. There was something about Elvis, who he was, Ziva had no idea, but Tony seemed to be excited about the man.

_Today I woke up thinkin' about Elvis somewhere in Vegas  
I'm not sure how I got here_

_Or how this ring on my left hand just appeared out of nowhere  
I gotta go_

Ziva looked at the clock beside the bed, and remembered that she was supposed to call her father that morning to update him on the mission. He had expected to call by ten, but, according to her watch, it was closer to ten. Muttering in Hebrew, Ziva stealthily slipped out of the bed and grabbed her clothes. Walking out of the hotel room, Ziva never looked back.

_  
I took the chips and the Pinto and hit the road  
They say what happens here stays here  
All of this will disappear  
There's just one little problem..._

_I don't even know my last name  
_

"I am married and do not even know who he is," Ziva said to herself, punching the steering wheel. How was she going to explain this to her father or to Ari?

_Oh my mama would be so ashamed  
It started off "Hey cutie, where ya from?"  
And then it turned in,  
"Oh no, what have I done?"  
And I don't even know my last name_

What have I done  
What have I done  
What have I done  
Oh, what have I done  
I don't even know my last name

_  
_As Ziva sat on the plane beside her half-brother, she thought back to that weekend. She tried to retrace the events, but it was all still hazy. Ari looked over at his half-sister, and could easily see the conflict in her eyes. He knew better than to ask her about it though, and kept his silence. Besides, he had other things to think about, Ari thought smugly.

_It started off "Hey cutie, where ya from?"  
And then it turned into  
"Oh no, what have I done?"  
And I don't even know my last name_

It turned into  
"Oh no, what have I done?"  
And I don't even know my last

my last name

Hope you liked the story! I will update with the reaction of the two when they meet again. Please tell me what you thought!! Thanks again for reading.


	2. Four Years Later

_Here's the next chapter. I couldn't resist posting it. Hope you enjoy it. I'm not too crazy about how it turned out. I know where I want to bring this story, but the middle part is what is going to be the hard part. I don't want to quote the show bit by bit. Please tell me what you think about this._

**Four Years Later**

Tony had tried searching for the mysterious woman that he had met the night he was out celebrating four years ago. He used all of his contacts to try and find her, even asking Abby to do some searching, but neither of them could find information on the woman. In fact, it seemed like Ziva never existed. Abby searched through every database her computers were linked to, but found nothing. After a few months, Tony resigned to the idea that he would probably never find her again. He could barely remember the night after they landed in Las Vegas. He figured she was long gone by the time he had woken up. Not long after moving to D.C., Tony had reverted back into his playboy attitude, and went after anything female. Just because his credit card was maxed out from the Las Vegas trip, did not mean that Tony could not have fun. After all, he still had the money his father gave to him.

Ziva had put the night behind her not long after arriving back in Israel. There was too much at stack for her to lull around thinking about who the man was. She was pretty sure that he had no idea what had happened that night. She had been able to pull Tony's ring off, so he did not see it. The next two years Ziva was assigned to various undercover missions that forced her to put her heart and soul in them. If she swayed the slightest bit, her operation could be compromised and she would have to forfeit.

When Ari began to show up on the radar of the United States' governmental agencies in early 2004, Ziva was ordered by her father to assure that Ari's covert position was not ruined. She began a dossier on the NCIS team that Ari had held captive. No pictures were allowed for Ziva, making her job extremely hard, but she was good at her job and found out what she needed.

The next year was the worst, Deputy Director David ordered Ziva to fly to Washington, D.C. after Agent Jethro Gibbs made it clear that he wanted Ari dead in revenge for the death of his team member, Caitlin Todd. Ziva's orders were too successfully bring Ari out of the United States without compromising his position in Hamas and Al Qaida. This was a tough job, but Ziva was determined to not allow this Agent Gibbs to kill her half-brother. Ziva might not have a good relationship with her father, but she would do almost anything to protect her half-brother.

Ziva walked out of the elevator doors and took in her surroundings. It was a large room, with various sections blocked off where the various agents sat. In the center of the room, Ziva spotted a man leaning back in his desk seemingly having a conversation with the air. Walking over to him, Ziva could not help but notice that something was vaguely familiar about him, but she shook it off as being her research on the team.

Walking closer, Ziva stood watching the man. Realizing who the man was, Ziva inwardly groaned. She was not prepared for her past to come back and bite her.

"I'll call you back," Tony said, hitting his desk phone like he was hanging it up when he realized he was being watched.. Looking up at Ziva, he attempted to explain what he was doing. "Hi, I was just…." he began, not able to come up with an excuse.

"Having phone sex?" Ziva finished bluntly for him.

"Phone sex?" Tony laughed nervously. "Yeah, I was actually playing charades. My partner and I were trying to come with lines for Saturday night."

"You play charades on Saturday night?" Ziva asked, not quite believing him.

"Before I go clubbing. Who are you?" Tony asked, tired of trying to defend himself.

"Ziva David, Mossad," Ziva said, showing him her id. Tony looked at her, the wheels clicking in his head. This was the woman he took to Las Vegas four years ago. The woman who left him without a word.

"You're Israeli?" Tony said, looking at her. Both knew the other knew, but Ziva was determined not to bring up the subject.

"Very good the way you made that connection. Mossad, Israeli," Ziva said, walking to the other side of the sectioned off area.

"What can I do for you, Miss David?" he asked. She could tell that Tony remembered her, but there seemed to be a slight hostility in his voice. Ziva supposed it had to do with Ari.

"Nothing, I'm here to see Special Agent Gibbs," Ziva explained.

"How do you know I'm not Gibbs?" Tony countered, trying to fully understand how the Israeli had all the sudden reappeared in his life. Ziva just stared at him, daring him to say something.

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do for you?" Tony asked again.

"I do not think so," Ziva said, smiling slightly at Tony. The two stared at each other, communicating silently with their eyes.

**A Few Hours Later**

Tony was standing outside of the hotel Ziva had gone into. It was pouring rain, and he was grouchy. He wanted to talk to the woman, ask her why she up and left him that night. But, he had yet to have the chance. Tony knew Ziva was there to keep them from killing Ari, but nothing was going to stop them from receiving their revenge. He was caught off guard when Ziva walked up beside him and held out a coffee cup.

"It is cold out here," Ziva said.

"How'd you know I was here?" Tony asked, surprised to see her.

"I saw you following me from the moment I left the building," Ziva explained, still holding out the coffee. "Do you want this or not?" she asked and Tony just stared at her.

Taking a deep breath, Tony grabbed the cup from her other hand, and took a drink. "Why are you here?" he asked, looking out into the rain.

"You know why I am here: to keep your boss from killing Ari," Ziva explained.

"Were you protecting him four years ago, too?" Tony asked, looking at Ziva from out of the corner of his eye.

"Special Agent Gibbs was not trying to kill him then," Ziva said, taking a drink of her coffee cup. She had run from this for four years, and now it was all blowing up in her face.

"How do I trust you?" Tony asked. "I barely know you. You left me in Las Vegas without even a goodbye."

"It was not my choice," Ziva sighed. "I was to fly back to Tel Aviv that morning, and I missed my flight. The director was not happy about that," she said.

"Zee-vah, do yourself a favor. Do not trust this guy," Tony said, turning to face her. "He is dangerous. I've seen what he will do. He's gone rogue, and if you Mossad are too stubborn to see that, more people are going to die. We will stop at nothing too kill that bastard, and we WILL get him," Tony promised, meaning every last word.

"I am sorry that it has come to this," Ziva said, walking back into the hotel entrance.

As time went by, Tony and Ziva got to know each other, but Ziva held back some. It took him a while to fully trust her after the whole Ari ordeal, but the two slowly became close partners. The only thing that pained Ziva the most was the fact that she hid the truth from him. It 

was obvious that Tony had not had a serious relationship in the four years she had been gone, but Ziva was still unsure about how to tell him that she had lied.

When the two were assigned to go undercover as the married assassins, Ziva braced herself. She had been trying to hide her feelings for Tony, but it was getting difficult seeing him every day. Pretending to be married was going to be very hard for Ziva to do.

Tony was feeling almost the same. The same invisible string that drew the two to each other four years ago was still going strong. There was something about the dark haired woman that made Tony want to get as close to her as he possibly could.

Gibbs and Jenny had made is perfectly clear, with harsh orders and reminders of Rule #12, that the two of them were only supposed to pretend to be having sex, but it had to be realistic in case they were being watched.

After stripping each other out of their clothes, Tony and Ziva slid under the covers of the bed. "This is going to be fun," Tony muttered more to himself that her. Just kissing her brought flashbacks into his mind of the night that he had been unable to remember for four years.

Inside herself, Ziva had a raging war. Half of her wanted to take Tony right then and there, but the other half told her that it was wrong. Pretty soon one half outweighed the other, and Ziva managed to roll the two of them over to where she lay on top of him. "Just how much fun do you want to have, Tony?" she asked, smiling down at him.

"Depends, what happens if I say yes?" Tony asked, holding her hair out of their faces.

"Las Vegas," Ziva stated simply, leaning down and placing a quick kiss on his lips.

"Las Vegas is good," Tony said, smiling up at Ziva.

**NCIS After the Mission**

Tony sat with an icepack on his head and the rest of the NCIS group stood around his desk talking.

"How did you guys fake it so good that the FBI thought it was real?" McGee asked the two.

"Practice, McVirgin," Tony said, looking at Ziva, smiling slightly. "Don't worry about it. You will never be able to handle it," he teased the young man.

Tony and Ziva never talked about what they did. Ziva was torn inside. She knew Tony had the right to know they were married, but she did not want him to not trust her anymore. She had kept the whole thing a secret from him for four years, but it was for the best, Ziva kept telling herself.

Tony was beginning to read Ziva's emotions easier and easier as time went by. He could tell from the start that there was something bothering her, but no matter how much prodding he did, Ziva refused to open up. This was not the same woman that he had met at the bar that night. That woman had been carefree, looking for a way to loosen her nerves. This woman, now, seemed to hide inside her shell, afraid to open up. Tony was determined to find out what exactly was going on behind those beautiful brown eyes.

_There it was, folks. Please tell me what you thought. I promise to post the next chapter as soon as I can! _


	3. Promotions and Gut Feelings

_Sorry it has taken me a while to update. I have had the stuff written out in my head for a while now. I just have not had a chance to decipher my brain and get it onto my computer. lol _

_Disclaimer: I dont own NCIS, or the characters or any of the loverly stuff that would make me have more money than I could dream of._

So without further adeu (sp??):

**About a Year Later**

I do not like this," Ziva said for the tenth time since Tony had parked the car.

"Zee-vah, stop being so paranoid. Gibbs is going to find the guy, get the information and get out. End of story," Tony said, looking around at the dock. He was not going to admit it, but he had his own gut feelings about the operation, too.

"Something is wrong," Ziva said right before an explosion rocked the ship Gibbs was on.

Running towards the ship, Tony, Ziva and McGee saw what they never thought possible. Their seemingly indestructible boss lay there lifeless. Tony and McGee froze, but Ziva, who was used to these scenes, rushed over to Gibbs.

"He is alive. Get an ambulance," Ziva yelled at the two men, finally breaking them out of the shock. "You are not allowed to leave us," she whispered to Gibbs as she knelt beside him. "I still have to collect on your promise." She did not know if the injured man could hear her or not, but she felt the need to do so, just in case.

**2 days Later**

Ziva watched everyone as they stood around shocked: Gibbs knew none of them. She hated to admit it, but seeing the broken look on Tony's face made her want to go over and comfort him. Ziva had seen this happen many times before when she was in Israel. It was almost worse than picking up the pieces of victims of suicide bombers on the streets.

As the days went by with Gibbs seeming to be unable to gain any of his memory, Ziva knew something had to be done. Tony was being insufferable, and was taking it out on the team.

Silently slipping into Gibbs' hospital room, Ziva found the marine seemingly sleeping. "Visiting hours are over," Gibbs spoke up, making Ziva jump unexpectedly. "Who are you?"

"Gibbs, you have to trust me," Ziva began. "I am one of your team members at NCIS. You have to listen to me. We need you to remember, we need you back," she told the man.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about. I can't remember anything," Gibbs said, agitatedly. He was getting tired of everyone telling him to remember.

"Gibbs, you cannot withdraw into yourself, you have to try," Ziva insisted.

"Nurse!" Gibbs called out, but Ziva silenced him. "Get away from me! I don't know you!"

"Gibbs, listen to me," Ziva said, her voice deadly serious. "We have a secret no one else knows, remember?" she said, her voice quivering. "I saved your life."

Gibbs' mind flashed through his memories of the past decade. He saw Jenny in Paris, Ari smirking at the camera, Kate dying, Ari lying dead in his basement. "Ari," he whispered. "You killed your brother," he said, remembering everything. Ziva just nodded at him.

The next few hours flew past Ziva like she was in slow motion. She could not believe Gibbs had quit, er retired, she reminded herself mentally, looking around the bullpen, Ziva watched the emotions on everyone's faces. McGee and Abby stood next to each other trying to decipher everything that just occurred. Jenny stood on the stairway barely concealing the sadness in her eyes. The last person Ziva looked at was the one who tore her heart up the most. Tony stood where Gibbs had left him, not moving an inch. Ziva could clearly tell that Tony was a wreck. He had no idea what he was going to do. By the end of the week, it was clear that Tony was not loosening up. He was trying too hard to fill Gibbs' shoes.

"Ziva, you have to stop him!" Abby pleaded. "He is horrible. Even Gibbs was nicer than Tony's being!"

"Why me, Abby?" Ziva sighed, she had been trying to avoid Tony at all costs.

"Because you're the only one that seems to have an affect on him. You have to make him stop being so mean. He is going to end up hurting himself or someone else," Abby said.

"I will try," Ziva sighed, giving into Abby's pleading. Leaning against the elevator wall, Ziva raked her brain trying to figure out what to do. Walking to where the team's desks were, Ziva saw Tony grilling McGee over wrinkling a piece of paper.

"TONY!" Ziva exclaimed. "We need to talk, NOW!" she said, showing him he had no choice but to follow her to the elevator.

"What, Zee-vah?" Tony asked, flicking the emergency switch as soon as the doors shut.

"What are you doing?" Ziva asked. "Ever since Gibbs left, you have drove everyone's ass."

"Rode, Zee-vah," Tony corrected her. "And I have not."

"Yes, you have, Tony. You are constantly yelling at Abby and McGee for the littlest thing. You cannot take out your anger on them."

"Last time I checked, Zee-vah, you are not my boss," Tony shot at her. "Do not tell me what to do. You know nothing about me."

"I know enough about you to know when you are not okay. You feel betrayed by Gibbs and are taking it out on everyone," Ziva said, trying to make Tony understand.

"What do you want me to do?" Tony asked, stepping closer to Ziva. "Am I supposed to just act like nothing is wrong? That nothing changed? That our boss didn't just give up and leave? Well, I have news for you: it happened!" he hissed.

"Do not take it out on us. We were hurt just as much as you. I will not be your punching bag, and I will not allow you to do it to McGee or Abby," Ziva said, stepping even closer to Tony. "You have to calm now."

"How?" Tony sighed, giving in. He knew Ziva was saying the truth, but he had no one to go to about it.

"Come over tonight and I will cook for you," Ziva suggested. "We can talk then."

"Thanks, Ziva," Tony said, reaching to start the elevator.

That night was the beginning of weekly visits between the two agents. It gave Tony a day to let off steam and not be the boss, and also allowed the two to get to know each other better. However, as time went by, Tony began to withdraw into himself.

"What is going on, Tony?" Ziva asked one night after they finished watching _While You Were Sleeping_ one night per Tony's request.

"It's nothing," Tony reiterated what he said every time she brought it up.

"You know you can tell me anything," Ziva told him.

"Zee-vah, I want you to know that I put you as my emergency contact in case something ever happens to me," Tony spoke up after a moment.

"Is something wrong?" Ziva asked, surprised that Tony brought something like that up.

"No, I just had to renew my emergency list. I had Gibbs as my contact," Tony explained, but Ziva was still concerned.

"Tony, do you remember anything from Las Vegas?" she asked him, deciding it was as good a time as any.

"Not after leaving the casino," Tony admitted. "What happened?"

Ziva opened her mouth to say, but was stopped by Tony's cell phone ringing. "Dead sailor in Norfolk," Tony sighed. "Where were you going to say?" he asked.

"Never mind," Ziva said, standing up. Never once had Ziva thought of herself as a coward, until that moment.

**A week Later-NCIS Office**

Tony knocked on the door of Director Shepherds' office. He really needed to talk to her.

"Problem?" Jenny asked when Tony walked into the office.

"Um, no, no problem," Tony rambled nervously. "Are you sure I am the right person for this mission?" he blurted out.

"Do you not think you are good enough, Special Agent DiNozzo?" Jenny asked.

"Oh, I'm good enough, but I've never lied this much to a woman before," Tony explained. "Sure I gave them every pick-up line in the book, but they only lasted a week at the longest."

"Afraid of commitment?" Jenny asked. "You do know that it is not a true relationship? It is just a mission."

"Listen, I have a bad feeling about this mission and I don't know why. If something does happen to me, will you be sure Ziva gets this?" Tony asked, holding out an envelope for Jenny to take.

"Is there anything I should know?" Jenny asked, looking at the man quizzically.

"I just want to make sure she gets that envelope. It's to be sure she continues my legacy of McTeasing," Tony smiled his classic smile.

"Fine, but you won't be hurt," Jenny assured him, yet Tony still had his doubts when he left the room.

**That Night-Ziva's House**

"Ziva, I need to tell you something," Tony began, taking a deep breath to prepare himself. "I have to stop coming over here," he told her.

"Why?" Ziva asked, looking at the man sitting across from her.

"I don't want to talk about it," Tony sighed. "It's just something that I have to do. When I can explain what is going on, I will. I promise, Zee-vah," Tony said, looking deeply into her eyes. "You will be the first to know," he added just above a whisper.

"Tell me what it is now," Ziva begged.

"I can't. I need to leave," Tony said, looking at his watch.

**The Next Day-NCIS**

Tony and Ziva had been avoiding each other like the plaque the whole day. McGee was getting the brunt of Tony's foul mood, and had went to Abby's Lab to hide. Around lunchtime, Tony disappeared and Ziva decided to head up to see Jenny.

When Ziva walked into Jenny's office, Jenny was not sure what to describe the look on the Israeli's face.

"Is something wrong?" Jenny asked her friend.

"I am fine," Ziva assured the red-head, smiling slightly. "Will you do me a favor?" Ziva asked and Jenny nodded. "Will you give this to Tony if something happens to me? He should know the truth," Ziva told her friend.

"Truth about what?" Jenny asked, thinking of all the possible.

"About Laila," Ziva answered and Jenny's eyes widened.

"Why Tony? You didn't know him back then," Jenny asked.

"It's hard to explain, Jenny. Just give him this if something happens," Ziva said, handing Jenny an envelope with the emblem of a Las Vegas Hotel and Tony's name written on it. "He will understand it," Ziva explained when Jenny raised an eyebrow.

"Why did Gibbs have to teach you guys about gut feelings?" Jenny sighed, shaking her head. If it was not for his notorious gut feelings, Jenny would not have two envelopes in her desk for two agents.

_Whatcha think?? I hope you enjoyed it. Please tell me what you think!!_


	4. Laila

_Sorry it has taking me so long to update! School has been hectic for me. I will try to update ATLEAST once a week, PROMISE!! Thanks ya'll for the reviews and for reading this story. I hope you enjoy it!_

"Jenny, I'm supposed to be the team leader. How can I do that when I have to pretend to have a flexible schedule and can see Jeanne at anytime?" Tony fumed. He'd only been undercover for two weeks, but he already wanted out. Jeanne was too clingy for his taste and it was driving him crazy.

"You will do it because you know you can. You know your abilities better than anyone else," Jenny explained.

"I don't like lying to my team. How can the team trust me in the field if I don't seem to trust them?" tony asked, pacing the room. He could easily ignore the looks McGee gave him, but Ziva's seemed to pierce his skin. Tony hated keeping things from her, but, according to Jen, he had to.

"Special Agent DiNozzo, if you don't think you can accomplish your tasks, then I expect you to tell me right now, so that I can get someone who WILL," Jen said, her Director's tone taking over.

"I'll finish, but just know: as soon as this is over, I do not want to be involved in another one of your personal vendettas," Tony said, leaning on the Director's desk. "I will not screw over my team again," he said, leaving the office.

**A Few Days Later**

The gut feeling Tony felt the past month continued to gnaw at him. There was something wrong, but he could not pinpoint it. In fact, the whole team could feel something about to happen. Abby drudged around her lab without her music blaring. McGee was jumpy anytime Tony even breathed.

Ziva had had enough of the tension in the building and decided to go get some lunch down the street. Her mind had been so wrapped in what was going on that she did not notice the 

car that barreled through the red light as she crossed the intersection in her mini-cooper. The car slammed into the passenger side of Ziva's car, and the two vehicles slid to a stop on the sidewalk.

**NCIS Office**

"DiNozzo," Tony answered his phone. It had been a couple hours since Ziva had left. He as beginning to worry. "We'll be right there," Tony added, hanging up. "McGee, call Ducky and Abby. Ziva's been in an accident."

Rushing into the hospital, Tony flashed his badge. "Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS. My partner was brought in here: Ziva David."

"Oh! You mean Miss David," the receptionist said, butchering Ziva's last name. "She is up in surgery right now. I'll tell Dr. Benoit you are here."

"I'm sorry; who did you say the doctor was?" Tony asked, freezing in his steps.

"Dr. Jeanne Benoit," the receptionist said. "Do you know her?"

"No, I thought you said another name," Tony lied. "Probie, I need to tell Director Shepherd what's up," he told McGee who nodded, walking to the waiting room. "Jen, we got a problem. The paramedics brought Ziva to Monroe University, it was the closest hospital. Jeanne's her doctor," Tony explained.

"Has she seen you yet?" Jen asked.

"No, but I'm not leaving, Jen. Ziva is my partner, and I'm staying here," Tony stood his ground. "Jen, you know enough to bring the guy in. This is Ziva, we're talking about."

"Go to her," Jen sighed. Tony reminded her of Gibbs so much that it was scary. She had realized too late that the op she had made Tony do was absurd. Using a man's innocent daughter to get him was not the right thing to do.

Tony was pacing the waiting room as McGee held a crying Abby when Jenny walked in. "Any news?" she asked Tony.

"Ducky went to find out," Tony told her. "Police report says the other driver ran the red light and hit Ziva in the passenger door. Imagine that: the one time she drives legally is the time she gets hurt."

"She will be okay," Jenny said just as Jeanne walked in.

"Tony? What are you doing here?" Jeanne asked shocked to see him there.

"I'll explain later, Jeanne. How is Ziva?" he asked, walking to her.

"Her injuries are moderate. Her right shoulder is broken, along with four of her ribs. Her right wrist was badly sprained. Right now we are not sure how severe of a concussion she has. We won't be entirely sure until she wakes up," Jeanne explained, carefully watching the man she thought was Tony DiNardo, but now she was not so sure.

"When will she wake up?" Jenny asked.

"I can't say exactly. As of right now, she is in a coma," Jeanne explained and the whole room seemed to get quieter. Tony seemed to be hurt the most by the news. There was something between the two- that was clear to Jeanne

"Can we see her?" Tony asked, forcing himself to swallow

"It'd be good if everyone close to her could come see her," Jeanne explained, waiting for a reaction from Tony.

"So she'll wake up," Jenny added. The team had been through all this before.

"Tony, why are you carrying a pistol?" Jeanne asked all of a sudden.

Sighing, Tony said, "Probie, you and Abs go see Zee-vah. Tell her to get that crazy ninja chick ass up before I have to torture her with a marathon of 80's comedies. She hates those." 

Jenny just shook her head to hide her smile, and Jeanne glared at Tony. This Tony was not the one that she knew.

"I have to make a phone call," Jenny told the two, leaving the room.

"How do you know Ziva David?" Jeanne asked him, mispronouncing her name.

"Dah-veed," Tony corrected her. "She's my partner."

"Your partner?" Jeanne asked hesitantly. "You're sleeping with her?"

"No, I'm not sleeping with her. Jeanne, I lied to you when we first met. I'm not Tony DiNardo, or a professor at the university. My name is Tony DiNozzo, and I'm a federal agent. I work at NCIS with everyone in that writing room."

"What? But…why did you lie to me?" Jeanne asked shocked the revelation.

"I ordered him to," Jenny answered for Tony and went on to explain the whole thing.

"I will arrange for Ziva to be transferred to Bethesda as soon as she is stable," Jeanne said, acting stronger than she felt. "Until then, the best you can do is be sure the people who love her are around as often as they can," Jeanne said, leaving the room.

Tony did not wait another second to go check on Ziva. He was worried about her. Never had Tony seen Ziva look so weak and vulnerable.

"Where is the bastard that did this?" Ducky asked.

"Disappeared from the scene before anyone got there," Tony explained. "McGee, can you and Abby do what you do and find out anything?" he asked the younger man.

"Yeah, Boss, err Tony," McGee answered.

"I want a twenty-four hour protection detail around here at all times," Tony told the group.

"Tony, we need to go check on Laila," Jenny spoke up.

"Who?" everyone asked simultaneously.

"Ziva's daughter. She goes to the kindergarten not far from the base," Jenny explained. "She'll be getting out soon, and will be looking for her mother."

"She has a daughter and never told us anything about it?" Tony exclaimed, spinning around to look at Jenny.

"I think this will explain it," Jenny said, handing Tony the envelope Ziva gave her.

"Where did you get this?" Tony asked, recognizing Ziva's handwriting and the logo of the hotel they rented that night almost five years ago.

"DiNozzo, pick the girl up and take her to NCIS. Jenny and I will take the shift here," the team heard from the doorway.

"Boss, you're back," Tony said, smiling wide. He did not have to be the team leader anymore.

"MOVE!" Gibbs barked, sending Tony into action.

"Um, how do I know what she looks like?" Tony asked, stopping at the doorway.

"Open the envelope, Tony," Jenny smirked.

Tony waited until after he reached his car to open the envelope. He was not sure what he would find in it. Pulling the papers out, Tony unfolded them, a picture falling into his lap. Holding it up, Tony saw a beautiful little girl with dark black hair like Ziva and with beautiful green eyes that seemed vaguely familiar.

Unfolding the papers, Tony found a marriage certificate dated April 29, 2001 with his and Ziva's names printed on it. 'Oh boy,' he thought to himself, and went to unfold the letter.

'_Tony, if you are reading this then something had probably happened to me. I am sorry that I have kept this all from you for all this time. I should have told you that we got married that _

_night in Las Vegas, but at the time I was afraid. My father would have killed you if he found out, not to mention my very protective brother._

_There's something else that I haven't told you about. I'm sure by now Jen has told everyone about Laila. Take care of her for me. When you meet her, she will be shy. Tell her "Laila tov, cara mia." She will understand. Toda.'_

Tony sat there staring at Ziva's handwriting. Why would Ziva mix Hebrew with Italian? That made no sense, unless…Tony froze. "She's mine," Tony said out loud, slamming his car into gear.

_How did you like it??_

_" Laila tov, cara mia"- Good night my dear _

_Just in case you want to know, I'm not good at Hebrew or Italian-I can barely pass Spanish!- so i may not have that part of the story right. If I have it wrong please forgive me!!_


	5. Revelations

_Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing!!_

Pulling up to the school, Tony took a deep breath. Every kid he had ever been around had been an awkward experience. Tony never knew how to act around them.

"May I help you, sir?" the secretary asked when Tony walked in.

"Yeah, I'm Special agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS. I'm here to pick Laila, um I'm not sure what her last name is," Tony tried to think. "I don't know if Ziva used David or DiNozzo," he explained.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we are not allowed to release students without their parents' permission," the secretary said.

"Listen, look at Laila's file and you will find I have permission to pick her up," Tony told her, pulling his hands on the counter. "Ziva David is my partner at NCIS. She has been involved in a serious accident, and the child may be in danger," Tony explained quietly. "If I have to, I will call my boss, Director Shepherd, and let her tell you," he insisted.

"Well, why didn't you say so? Ms David told us that a Director Jenny Shepherd or Agent Gibbs might show up," the secretary told him, standing up. "I'm just going to have to see your id."

Tony sighed: he just showed it to her when he walked in! Sure he understood the need for safety, but this was getting annoying!

"You must be Tony," a woman said from the doorway on the other side of the desk. "Ziva told me that we might see you. Your daughter has your eyes," she noted. "I'm Dr. Amy Travis," she introduced herself. "If you follow me, I can take you to her classroom."

"I'm sorry, but this is all new to me," Tony explained as they walked down the hall.

"You said that Ziva was hurt?"

"She was involved in a hit-and-run accident this afternoon and is in serious condition. We believe it was intentional. Ziva has made a lot of enemies over the years."

"Have there been threats about Laila?" the woman asked, turning to face Tony. Normally Tony would have been flirting up a storm with this beautiful of a lady, but he did not feel the urge. The only woman Tony had on his mind was lying hurt on the hospital bed.

"No, but we're taking everyone precaution," Tony said when they reached the classroom.

Knocking on the door, Dr. Travis walked in the room. "Sorry for the interruption, Ms. Crim. Someone is here to pick up Laila."

Laila grabbed her backpack and left the room. When she saw Tony, she froze in her steps wide-eyed.

Tony felt awkward for a brief moment. It was like he was looking at a younger version of Ziva. Squatting down to Laila's level, Tony said, "Hi, Laila. I'm a friend of your mom's." the girl continued to stare at him. "Your momma told me to pick you up today, mia cara," Tony explained, using the Italian part of the phrase Ziva told him in the letter.

"You know Italians?" Laila asked quietly.

"My grandfather was born in Italy," Tony answered in Italian to test how much Ziva had taught her daughter.

"Ima told me my Aba was Italian," Laila said, mixing the Hebrew titles with Italian.

Tony was surprised: Ziva had told their daughter about him, but never told him about her.

"Would you like to come with me and meet your Ima's other friends?" Tony asked, converting back to English.

"Ima told me never to trust anyone who said they knew her," Laila said, lifting her chin just the way Ziva would.

"'Laila tov, cara mia,'" Tony said and the girl's eyes widened again.

"You know Ima?" Laila whispered, beginning to trust the man in front of her.

"Yes I do, sweet cheeks," Tony said.

"Where is Ima?"

Tony looked at the girl for a few seconds. How was he going to tell this little girl that her mother was in a coma and might never wake up? "She needed a nap, so I offered to pick you up. She worked very, very hard today," Tony told the girl.

**NCIS**

Tony walked out of the elevator, holding Laila's hand in one hand, and her backpack in the other.

"Is it true?" Abby exclaimed, running towards him. The cubicle wall had yet to reveal the five year old. "It is! Oh my gosh! You look so much like your mother! Do you know any crazy ninja skills?" Abby rambled to the little girl who held tight to Tony.

"Abs, calm down!" Tony sighed. The little girl had squeezed Tony's hand so tight that it was actually hurting. 'The kid's got Ziva's grip,' he thought. "Laila, this is Abby, and the man over there is Probie," Tony pointed out each of them.

"My real name is McGee," McGee told her. "Tony just likes making up names," he explained.

"I want Ima," the girl said, her eyes filling up with tears and her bottom lip quivering.

"I know, hon," Tony said, picking her up and hugging her. "I promise we will go see her as soon as we can."

"Abby watched the interaction and could not help but sigh. "They look so cute, McGee. I wander where her father is."

"Abs, come to your lab," McGee said, walking to the elevator.

**Abby's Lab**

"I was searching for any information that could help us find whoever did this to Ziva," McGee explained. "I found this," he said, pulling up a document on the screen.

"They're married!" Abby exclaimed. "But, how is that possible? We never knew Ziva until a year ago. They've been lying to us all this time!"

"I never lied," Tony said from the doorway. Laila was asleep, her head against Tony's neck. "I did not know we were married," he explained softly as not to wake the girl in his arms.

"You let us assume you never knew her before," McGee said.

"It was a one night stand. I met her at a club in Baltimore. Sometime in the night we decided to fly to Vegas and that's all I remember. I never even knew her last name," Tony told the two. "So in a way I never met her until she came here."

"That means…" McGee began, looking between Tony and Laila.

"Yes, McGenius. She's my daughter," Tony sighed, laying Laila on the futon in Abby's office. "Have you found anything?" he asked.

"I managed to hack into the street cameras, and was able to find multiple shots of Ziva's wreck. It's not good," Abby told the senior agent.

"Did you get a picture of the other driver?" Tony asked, reverting to his Gibbs impersonation.

"It's grainy, but I can clear it up. It might take a while though."

"He is hurt," Tony pointed out. "Check the local hospitals, McGee," he told the man. There was something about the man in the video that seemed familiar to Tony. Pulling out his cell phone, Tony called Jenny to fill them in.

"Tony, find everything you can about Laila's father. He might know something we don't," Gibbs told Tony over the phone and Tony could not conceal a grimace.

"Uh, Boss, I know him better than anyone else," tony said.

"Then get him to NCIS," Gibbs barked.

"Boss, he's already here," Tony stated, really not wanting to explain it to Gibbs.

"Don't make me have to come there and hurt you," Gibbs warned . "You know the drill."

"Umm, Gibbs. It's going to be hard to interregate myself," Tony told Gibbs bracing for his wrath.

"Are you telling me that you and Ziva re together?" Gibbs asked.

"No, I'm just saying that Laila is my daughter. Its complicated, Boss," Tony said, and heard Gibbs hang up. "Good going, DiNozzo," Tony said to himself, slapping himself on the back of his head. Tony heard a little giggle from behind him.

Turning around, Tony saw Laila standing there laughing. "You hit yourself," Laila said, giggling.

Tony smiled. "Think that's funny, huh!" he said, picking her up and tickling her. The two laughed for a bit longer before settling down.

"Tony, when are we going to see Ima?" Laila asked him, sitting on his lap.

"I don't know, honey," Tony sighed. He was worried about Ziva, but wanted to find out who did this to her.

"Tony, Tony! I got the picture cleared up. McGee's running it through the databases as we speak," Abby said, running into the bullpen.

"Put it up, Abs," Tony said.

Abby grabbed the remote off Tony's desk and pressed a few buttons. Laila looked at the screen with the two adults and let out a gasp when the picture appeared.

"Do you know that man, Laila?" Tony asked and the girl nodded. "What's his name?"

"Marshall," Laila said. "He hurt Ima!" she explained wide eyed.

_Duhduhduh...I'll update soon if ya'll are nice to me and click that blue button!!_


	6. Jeanne and Laila

Sorry I haven't updated in a while! My teachers all got together and decided "Hey let's give her an exam all on Wednesday." So I not have 3 exams on Wednesday and no idea what to study for them!

Anywho here is the story ya'll:

"_Do you know that man, Laila?" Tony asked and the girl nodded. "What's his name?"_

"_Marshall," Laila said. "He hurt Ima!" she explained wide eyed._

Tony looked at Abby who nodded and went to narrow the search down. "Why did he hurt Ima?" Tony asked the little girl.

"He said she was being bad and ad girls got punished. I told him Ima was good, but he yelled at me," Laila explained. "Ima said he was spying on her. He thought she went to a hotel with someone."

"When did he do this? Were you in school yet?"

Shaking her head, Laila said, "I was tre," mixing Italian with the English.

"You are a good girl. Thank you for telling us that," Tony said, kissing the top of the five year old's head.

"I want Ima," Laila whispered, hugging Tony.

"Come on," Tony said, hoisting Laila up. "Abs, tell McGee I'm going to see Ziva. If you find anything call!" he told the Goth.

"Aye, aye, captain!" Abby said with a fake salute as Tony got into the elevator.

"Laila, Ima is not feeling good," Tony said when he parked the car at the hospital. "When we see her, she is going to be asleep. It's okay to talk to her though. It might wake her up, and that is what we want."

"Did Marshall hurt Ima again?" Laila asked.

"I think so, sweet cheeks, but I promise that he will never hurt her again," Tony told the girl.

As the two walked down the hallway towards Ziva's room, Laila sat on Tony's shoulders rambling about everything she could think of. Tony added a word here and there, but most time he was just listening. Neither was paying attention, and almost ran into a doctor.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" "Excuse me!" Tony and the woman said simultaneously.

"Jeanne! Hi," Tony said, shifting Laila on his shoulders.

Jeanne was shocked at the scene. The Tony she knew did not deal with children very well, yet here he was holding one like it was natural.

"Laila, I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Jeanne. Jeanne, this is Ziva's daughter, Laila," Tony introduced the two.

"She's very pretty. Do you like her?" Laila asked in Italian.

"She's just a friend," Tony replied back in the same language.

"I don't trust her. She looks mean," Laila said, putting her chin on Tony's head. Tony just let out a chuckle.

"I didn't think you liked kids," Jeanne asked. "Or were fluent in Italian."

"I've learned more about myself this past few hours than I have ever known, believe me!" Tony said, shaking his head. How do you top your partner almost dying, finding you are married to said partner, and that you have a child with her?

"Can we see Ima now, Papà?" Laila asked, stunning Tony and Jeanne.

"Did you just call him your father?" Jeanne asked the little girl, not believing her ears.

Before Tony could intervene, however, Laila spoke up, "Yes, I did. My name is Laila Isabella DiNozzo, and his last name is DiNozzo, which means he is my father. Ima said my Aba was Italian, and knew the code words," Laila explained innocently.

"You have a child with that woman, and never told me about it?" Jeanne stormed.

"Jeanne, don't do this in front of her. I will explain everything later," Tony said, his voice not giving Jeanne any choice, but to comply. "Just give me a few minutes," Tony told her quietly and she nodded.

Tony walked into Ziva's room in a completely different mood than when he and Laila reached the hospital. Lifting Laila off his shoulders, Tony walked up to Gibbs and Jenny as Laila stood next to Ziva's bed.

"Any news?" Tony asked the two.

"She's stable, but they have no idea how long she's going to be out," Jenny said.

"Laila recognized the man that hit Zee-vah," Tony explained. "Said he was an ex-boyfriend that apparently beat her up a couple times."

"We never heard anything about her being abused," Jenny said, quietly.

"Laila told me that it happened before she started school when she was three. That would be about the time Ziva and I went undercover as the married assassins," Tony explained.

"Do we have a name?" Gibbs asked.

"First name is Marshall. McGee and Abby are looking for him as we speak."

"Papà, why won't Ima wake up?" Laila asked, walking over to Tony and them.

"She needs her rest," Gibbs said, crouching down in front of the girl. "You must be Laila."

"You are Gibbs," Laila responded. "Ima told me about you."

"Laila, sweet heart, can you stay here with Gibbs and Jenny? I need to go talk to my friend," Tony said.

"I don't like her, Aba," Laila said, wrinkling her nose up.

"Just like your mother," Tony sighed, kissing the top of the girl's head before leaving the room.

"Ima doesn't like Jeanne either?" Laila asked the two adults.

"Ziva never met Jeanne before," Jenny explained to the little girl, but smiled cause she knew what Tony meant. "Did you have fun with Tony today?"

"If he knows Ima, why hasn't he seen me yet?" Laila asked.

"You will have to wait and ask your mother that," Jenny said, smiling slightly at Gibbs.

**In Another Room**

Tony looked around and easily found Jeanne talking with one of the receptionists. "Hey, can we talk?" he asked, walking up to her.

"I'll be right back, Carly," Jeanne said.

"You should not have reacted that way in front of Laila," Tony said after they walked into an empty break room. "She is five years old for crying out loud."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight. It's been a bad day," Jeanne sighed. "I feel like I barely know you."

"Jeanne, I never meant for any of this to happen. I knew it was bad from the moment Jenny told me about it," Tony told the woman.

"Tell me just how well you know Ms David. Is she your girlfriend?" Jeanne asked.

"That's where it gets complicated," Tony sighed. "Ziva and I are not dating. Nor have we ever dated. Five years ago she and I met in a club, eloped to Las Vegas, and I never saw her until about a year and a half ago. I swear I did not know we were married until today when Jenny gave me a letter written by Zee-vah. I also never knew that we had a daughter until today. That's why today has been hectic. Not only have I learned about all this, I'm technically still the team leader of the NCIS team, and have to figure out who tried to kill my partner," Tony explained. "I never meant for any of this to ever happen," he told the woman.

"Why do you think someone tried to kill her? I thought it was just a car accident," Jeanne asked.

"Someone deliberately ran the red light and smashed into her car. We're working on tracking the guy down," Tony explained. "He better hope we get him before Ziva wakes up, or else she will kick his ass, and that's putting it nicely. She's a Mossad assassin."

"Oh, that explains it," Jeanne said. Her father had told her a little about the Israeli force, and it was not a group that she wanted to mess with. "Be sure she knows that I'm not in the picture anymore," she told him.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"I don't want my butt kicked because I am stealing a woman's man. Especially is she is Mossad," Jeanne said. "Besides, I know your daughter doesn't like me."

"How do you know that?" Tony asked.

"The way she was glaring at me when you two were talking in Italian," Jeanne explained and Tony chuckled.

"She's got a lot of her mom in her," Tony said. "Listen, I need to get back in there. I'm supposed to take over for Jenny and Gibbs for the night."

"Keep talking to her, and she will wake up. I know she will," Jeanne told him as he opened the door.

"Jeanne, if you see anyone who looks like this call me immediately," Tony said, handing her the picture of the suspect.

"Tony, he came in here thirty minutes ago with a broken arm," Jeanne said, looking up at Tony.

"Call security and have them keep an eye on him," Tony ordered. "I don't want him leaving the room unless Gibbs, Jenny, or I are told," he told her, heading back to Ziva's room. "Boss, Jeanne said, Marshall Baxter is in the hospital. She is calling security to guard his room right now," he told Gibbs and Jenny.

"What room?" Gibbs asked. He wanted to have a little talk with the man.

"Didn't say."

"I'll take Laila to my house," Jenny told the two. Laila had crawled onto Ziva's bed and had fallen asleep.

"Tony, you stay in this room. Don't let anyone in unless you know them," Gibbs ordered, leaving the room.

"We are going to make sure this guy pays for what he did to you," Tony whispered, kissing the top of Ziva's head after the others left. "Do not give up on me."

Gibbs headed to the room the suspect was supposed to be in. Walking into the room, Gibbs found the man lying dead on the bed. It was obvious that there was more to this then just an angry ex-boyfriend.

"Who was in here?" Gibbs asked the two security guards who stumbled around trying to answer the question.

"Only Dr. Benoit went into the room, sir," one managed to say finally.

Gibbs said, "This room is now a crime scene, no one is to enter these doors unless I give them the clear, understood?" Then he took off down the hallway.

_Who killed him?? I got a twist up my sleeve!! Hope you enjoyed it! Review please!!_


	7. Bad Day

Sorry that I have not updated in so long! I hope you don't hate me! I'll try to update as often as I can! Midterms have been TOUGH on me!

Tony sat near the door, waiting for any sign from Gibbs. He hated not knowing what was going on outside, but knew how important it was to keep Ziva safe. A knock on the door brought Tony out of his reverie and he jumped to his feet.

"Who is it?" Tony called through the door.

"It's me, Jeanne," Jeanne called back almost sounding nervous. "I need to check Ziva's vitals." Tony opened the door, looking around before letting her in. She was acting unusually paranoid, Tony noticed.

"Everything okay?" Tony asked, watching Jeanne.

"She seems to be doing better," Jeanne said. "Did the others go home?"

"They had work to do," Tony answered. "What's wrong?" Tony mouthed and Jeanne glanced at her name tag. Someone had wired Jeanne and was listening to everything that was said. "When do you think she might wake up?" Tony asked, motioning for Jeanne to act as if nothing was happening.

"There's no telling. Some patients have woken up after a few days, and some have never woke up," Jeanne said as Tony walked up to her.

Unhooking her name tag, Tony slowly began unwrapping the wire. "Zive is a strong woman. She has too much to live for," Tony said, keeping up the ploy.

"She is lucky to have so many people that truly care about her," Jeanne said as Tony pulled a knife out of to sever the cord. However, before he could cut the cord, Jeanne stopped him, shaking her head vigorously. Tony raised his eyebrow silently questioning her, and Jeanne unbuttoned her shirt, revealing a bomb strapped to her. Looking closely, Tony realized that the cord was tied into the bomb and that by cutting the cord, he would have triggered the bomb and blew the whole place up.

Sighing, Tony looked around the room trying to find something useful. 'Why me?' he thought to himself. Looking towards Ziva's bed, he found the soda he had brought with his food that afternoon. Reaching to grab it, Tony popped the lid off and dunked the microphone into the liquid.

"Who did this?" Tony asked, taking his cell phone out of his pocket to call Gibbs.

"A friend of my father's came to my office and told me that I didn't have a choice," Jeanne said. "I was supposed to put this into her iv," she added, shakingly holding up a syringe.

"Boss, we got a problem," Tony said when Gibbs answered the telephone.

"What, DiNozzo?" Gibbs sighed. Wasn't finding the main suspect dead bad enough?

"Someone rigged Jeanne with explosives and forced her to come into Ziva's room," Tony explained.

"I'll be right there," Gibbs said, hanging up the phone and hurrying down the hall. Storming into the hospital room, Gibbs asked, "Who?"

Jeanne was a nervous wreck by this time. She was shaking uncontrollably and did not know what to say to the marine.

"Jeanne, we need you to tell us what you know," Tony said as Gibbs looked at the bomb around her torso.

"He said that if I did anything other than what he said, then he would blow me up," Jeanne explained.

"Boss, we got to get her out of here," Tony said. "If this goes off, this whole room will go up, including Ziva."

Gibbs paid no attention to the younger agent; instead he fiddled with the bomb. Cutting one of the cords with his knife, Gibbs disarmed the bomb much to everyone's relief. Just then, Gibbs cell phone broke the silence in the room. "Gibbs."

"Gibbs! I've been trying to get a hold of you for like ever," Abby said from her lab. "Marshall Baxter was not who hit Ziva. He was a decoy. We found the fingerprints of Trent Kort inside the car, and found him sneaking out of the car on the camera. I should have seen it before, but I jumped to conclusions."

"Abby, who is he?" Gibbs interrupted.

"Rogue CIA agent. He was working under cover with the arms dealer La Grenouille as his second-in-command. CIA has not heard from him in six months, and has been unable to track his whereabouts."

"Find him, Abby," Gibbs ordered, slamming his cell phone shut.

"Tony, stay here with David and keep guard. Dr. Benoit, stay here, too," Gibbs ordered, leaving the room.

"What the hell is going on, Tony?" Jeanne said. This was too much for her.

"The man who put the bomb on you belongs to a terrorist cell we have been trying to track down," Tony explained, checking the windows again. "I hope the bastard pays," Tony muttered, his eyes drifting to Ziva. Jeanne did not miss this look. Tony may try to say he does not care for the Israeli, but Jeanne knew better.

"Security is on the look out of the guy," Gibbs said, reentering the room. "I want Officer David taken the Bethesda as soon as possible," he told Jeanne. "No one else is to know."

"Did you find him, Boss?" Tony asked, immediately regretting it.

"Yeah, Tony, and I let him go," Gibbs said sarcastically, head-slapping Tony.

"Sorry, Boss," he replied.

Within four hours, Ziva had been successfully transferred to Bethesda with a security guard stationed

Hope you enjoyed it! I promise I'll update soon!


	8. I can't lose you

_Sorry I have not update as soon as I said I would! I actually found some free time to type up the stuff I wrote for this story, so I should have a few more chapters up for ya'll!_

Tony rubbed his eyes for the tenth time. He had been by Ziva's side every since she had been transferred.

"Agent Gibbs, can I ask you a question," Jeanne asked as they stood just outside the room, watching the couple. "Were they…" she asked.

"There's a rule against it," Gibbs answered, taking a drink of his coffee.

"Since when did you follow the rules?" Jenny asked from behind him. "Someone wanted to see her mother," she explained, holding Laila's hand.

"Papa!" Laila squealed, running into the room. "When will Ima wake up?" she asked, jumping onto his lap.

"I don't know, sweetcheeks," Tony sighed. "Why don't you give her a hug and talk to her?" he suggested, lifting Laila onto Ziva's bed.

"Ima Zman lakoom. Papa daog bshvilech. Marshall, Ha ish ra, hoo Minooseh  
lifgoah at od, aval Dod Gibbs lhafsic oto," Laila rattled off.

"How many languages does the girl know?" Jeanne exclaimed.

"Ziva knows at least five," Jenny explained. "And that's now counting Italian, which she has obviously learned."

Ziva could hear her daughter talking to her. _"Ima its time to wake up."_ 'I'm so tired,' she though. _"Papa is worried about you."_ 'Tony figured out! He's smarter than I thought.' _"That meanie Marshall was trying to hurt you again…_" 'Marshall? He did not do it. It was Ari's best friend!' Ziva yelled in her head, trying to make someone understand.

Tony looked at Ziva. Something was not right; Ziva's face looked as if she was in distress. Her eyes were moving frantically under her eyelids. He began to worry when Ziva's heart monitor began to beat faster. Reaching over, Tony pressed the nurse call button.

"Papa, what's wrong with Ima?" Laila asked, noticing the same thing just as a nurse hurried in.

Tony picked Laila off the bed as more medical personnel hurried in. Walking out of the room, Tony did his best to keep Laila from jumping out of his hands.

"Ima!" Laila yelled, reaching towards the door way, crying. "I want Ima!"

"I know," Tony said, holding her tightly. Tears filled his eyes as well. The moment he was willing to let it all go and admit his feelings, it seemed that his whole world was crumbling around him.

"What's wrong?" Jenny asked as she, Ducky, and Gibbs turned the corner and spotted the two.

"I don't know. The machines started going crazy, and they pushed us out of the room," Tony explained, a sobbing Laila in his arms.

"I will go and check on her," Ducky suggested. "Don't worry, my boy," he patted Tony's shoulders before heading towards the room.

Laila cried herself to sleep and was lying on the bench chair in the waiting room as Tony sat next to her staring off into space. He did not notice Gibbs calling his name, nor did he see Gibbs walk towards him. Tony jumped out of his daze when he felt a slap on the back of his head.

"Yeah, Boss," Tony said, looking up at Gibbs.

"Have you slept at all since she's been in the hospital?" Gibbs asked, his voice almost sounding gentle.

"I don't know," Tony admitted, but quickly added, "No, I haven't," when Gibbs threatened to head slap him again.

"Go home, get some sleep," Gibbs ordered.

"Sorry, Boss, but I can't. I need to stay here until she wakes up," Tony said, standing up against Gibbs for the first time. "I have to stay here."

"Then find a place to take a break," Gibbs said. "You won't be any good for her if you are dead on your feet."

Tony gave in to his boss' suggestions and settled on the bench across from Laila; falling asleep within seconds.

"They didn't break your rule, Jethro," Jen told him, knowing what Gibbs was thinking.

"They have a child, Jen," Gibbs replied. "Usually they teach how that happens in grade school." Jen smirked.

"The rule is 'never date a co-worker,'" Jen explained. "Do the math, Jethro. Laila is almost five. Ziva's only been at NCIS for a year. I never knew who the father was, but she told me that it was a one night stand. They weren't working together then."

"There is more to it," Gibbs said. "I need coffee," he said, leaving the waiting room, passing Ducky on the way.

"How is she, Doctor Mallard?" Jenny asked the British M.E. when he sat down beside her.

"She is asleep right now. The doctors believe she is out of the woods. We won't know for sure until she wakes up," Ducky explained. "Poor boy, he's had to deal with a lot lately hasn't he," Ducky said, noticing Tony asleep.

"It's not over yet, Ducky," Jenny sighed. "Jethro is worried about him. He thinks there is more than just a one night stand between the two.

"Tony is a lot like Jethro, Jenny. He knows that and that, my dear, is what is bothering him," Ducky explained. "He is afraid Tony will make the same mistakes he did."

"I'm beginning to realize there are a lot of things I do not know about that man," Jenny shook her head.

"When you were shot in Paris, Jethro acted just the way Tony is."

"That was hardly the same as this," Jenny pointed out. "I was shot in the stomach, but was out of the hospital not long after."

"You were out for three days, and Jethro never slept," Ducky corrected her.

"Did he know?" Jenny asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I knew," Gibbs said, shocking the two. They watched as he strode further into the room. "Tony, the man said, shaking Tony's shoulder, earning a series of grumblings. "DiNozzo," Gibbs barked and Tony shot up.

"Yeah, Boss!" Tony said, jumping off the chair.

"Get in there and wake her up. Do not leave until she is back," Gibbs told the younger agent.

"On it, Boss," Tony said leaving the room. 'How am I supposed to wake her up?" Tony asked himself. 'I'm not a miracle worker.'

Sitting in the chair beside Ziva's bed, Tony raked his brain trying to find a way to wake the Israeli up without getting killed in the process. He hated seeing her lying there helplessly. "Zee-vah, you have to wake up. You scare Laila to death. Z, if you don't wake up soon, Gibbs is going to kill me. He has been on the war path ever since he flew back. I think we interrupted a fiesta," Tony told his partner. "This reminds me of 'While You Were Sleeping.' Big chick flick starring Sandra Bullock," Tony began telling Ziva the plot of the film. "Only difference is I don't have to pretend to be your fiancé, and I'm not going to fall in love with your brother," Tony shuddered at the thought.

"You are obsessed," a voice said from the doorway.

"What makes you think that?" Tony asked, not turning around as Jeanne walked into the room.

"Can you go a day without comparing something to a movie?" she asked him as she walked further into the room.

"Only when there is nothing important going on. It's my way of dealing with stuff," Tony admitted.

"I may not know Ziva, but from what I've seen, you care for her more than you are ever going to admit," Jeanne said. "Tell her the truth before it is too late. If that child in the other room is any proof, you two belong together."

"It's not that easy, Jeanne," Tony sighed. "Gibbs has a rule against dating co-workers."

"From what you told me, you wouldn't be dating," Jeanne said, smiling slightly. "Married couples don't usually date." Tony could not help but chuckle slightly.

"You do have a point. Man, I never thought my life would turn out like this," Tony said, shaking his head.

Jeanne bent down so that only Ziva could hear her, "You don't know me, but you need to wake up soon. You have a family here that really truly loves you. You have a husband that will do anything for you, and a daughter that is scared silly. Come back to them."

"What did you say?" Tony asked when Jeanne straightened back up.

"None of your business," Jeanne smirked. "I come to say goodbye. The FBI should be here soon to put me in protective custody. Apparently my father has a lot of dangerous friends," she explained, shrugging her shoulders.

"Take care, Jeanne. I'm sorry all of this happened," Tony admitted.

"I know," Jeanne smiled slightly, leaving the room for the last time.

Tony turned back to Ziva, "I can't lose you. I've never met anyone like you. You gave as much as you took at the office. You can't leave me with McGeek!" After rambling on for another five minutes, Tony wound up falling asleep, his head on the bed beside Ziva. He was exhausted from the past few days, and it had finally creeped up on him.

_Thanks for being patient with me! Please Review and tell me what you think!_


	9. United

_Here is another chapter for ya'll! Hope you enjoy it!_

Tony thought he was dreaming when he felt a hand brushing through his hair. Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, Tony lifted his head up to find Ziva looking down at him sleepily. "You're awake!" Tony exclaimed, smiling widely. "I was beginning to worry."

"How long was I asleep," Ziva asked concerned, her throat scratchy.

"You were in a coma for two days."

"I am sorry, Tony. I should have seen that car coming," Ziva apologized.

"Don't apologize. It's a sign of weakness," Tony smirked, using Gibbs' infamous quote.

"Did you catch Ivansic?" she asked and Tony looked at her.

"Who's Ivansic?" Tony asked.

"Daniel Ivansic was the man in the car that hit me. He is the Mossad contact at the CIA. Director David contacted me a few weeks ago and said that Ivansic had not reported back for two months, and they suspected that he went rogue," Ziva explained, her head throbbing.

"Z, did Ivansic have an alias?" Tony asked, piecing the puzzle together.

"I do not know. I was looking before I went to lunch."

"I will put Abby and McGee on his trail. I want you to lay there and rest a bit more," Tony told Ziva gently. He had been standing beside her bed holding her hand the whole time, and neither noticed.

"Tony!" Ziva called he reached the doorway. "Did Jenny…?" she asked unsure how to ask the question.

Smiling gently, Tony replied. "Yeah, Laila's sleeping in the waiting room with her and Gibbs." Ziva viably relaxed at this. "Get some rest and I'll bring her in soon," Tony added, leaving the room.

Tony walked in to the waiting room to find everyone sitting where he had left them. Except, Laila had awoken and was sitting on Jenny's lap, talking to Ducky. "Um, Boss, can I talk to you?" Tony asked, hating to break the peaceful surroundings. Gibbs looked up from his seat next to Jenny and nodded. Standing up, Gibbs followed Tony out the door.

"What, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked tiredly.

"Ziva is awake," Tony told the older man. "She knew the man who hit her. Said it was a Daniel Ivansic. I have Abby and McGee finding out what they can about him. Ziva said he was the Mossad contact in the CIA, but appears to have gone rogue. He had not contacted Mossad for three months. Boss, I think I know who the man is," Tony sighed. "If it is him, there's no way we can get him."

"What are you saying?" Gibbs asked not liking what he was hearing.

"If Daniel Ivansic is Trent Kort, which I think is true, he is involved in a high-priority CIA mission that we can't mess up. Kort is the second-in-command for an arms dealer known as La Grenouille. Director Shepard and I have been trying to track the man down for the past three months. Up until two days ago, I was undercover. My job was to get close to La Grenouille's daughter and use her to get to him. Boss, Jeanne is the daughter," Tony explained. "I ended it because my cover was blown when Ziva got hurt."

"Does Ziva know?" Gibbs asked. He knew about Jenny's personal vendetta against La Grenouille; she had talked about it on their undercover op in Paris.

"No one did," Tony answered.

"I want you to stay with Ziva. I'll send someone in to relieve you around 1800," Gibbs said, looking at his watch.

"Boss, she would like to see everyone," Tony told the man.

Gibbs slapped Tony on the back of the head. "I know, Tony," he said, walking back to the waiting room.

"Hey Laila, do you want to go say hi to Ima?" Tony asked, grinning at the little girl whose face lit up as she nodded vigorously. "Come on," Tony said, hoisting the girl up off Jenny's lap.

"Is she still resting?" Laila asked as Tony walked down the hall with the others following behind.

"Nope, she is waiting for us," Tony explained, reaching Ziva's door.

When Tony opened the door, Laila let out a shriek, "Ima!"

"Baby!" Ziva exclaimed, smiling happier than Tony had seen her smile in a long time. Opening her arms wide, Ziva engulfed the little girl in a tight hug.

"I miss you so much! Papa and I were so worried about you. He would not leave your side," Laila told Ziva in Hebrew. "I think he likes you like that man in _Enchanted_."

"What man?" Ziva asked, chuckling at the little girl

"The one that gave Giselle 'true love's kiss,'" Laila said, rolling her eyes at her mother.

"You know there are people here who speak English, and have no idea what you are saying," Tony spoke up, receiving glares from the two and earning a slap from behind.

"Gibbs! I thought you left," Ziva asked, shocked to see him behind Tony.

"Never was too crazy about sitting around doing nothing all day," Gibbs said, shrugging his shoulders. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've been hit by a bazooka," Ziva said.

"It's usually 'hit by a semi' but a bazooka would work, too," Tony chuckled.

Jenny walked over and gave her friend a gentle hug. "I'm glad you're back," she whispered into Ziva's ear.

"Thank you for giving him that," Ziva replied and Jenny smiled.


	10. Tony v Deputy Director David

_THanks so much for being patient ya'll! I've been doing way too much work this semester-I think the teachers have ganged up on me!! Anywho, thanks for all the reviews, Here is another chapter for you. Oh, and I forgot I don't own any of this, wish I did, but alas I don't._

Tony and Ziva stood in the elevator a week later. Ziva stood with her hands clenched tightly.

"Breath, Zee-vah. Jenny picked the best agents she could find," Tony assured her. They had just dropped Laila off at school. She had missed a week of school already, and, with Gibbs and Jenny's urging, Ziva relented, on one condition: the school was well guarded. The man—Trent Kort, Daniel Ivansic, or whatever he wanted to called—was still on the loose, and the team was determined to find him.

"DiNozzo, you're late," Gibbs told the agent as the two walked to their desks.

"Sorry, Boss. Laila wouldn't let go of Ziva," Tony explained.

Gibbs ignored Tony's excuses and strode over to Ziva. "My office, now," he ordered her, walking towards the elevator. Ziva glanced toward Tony who attempted an encouraging smile. They both knew what this was about, but Ziva was nervous. Following Gibbs, Ziva took a deep breath, preparing for the inevitable.

Gibbs reached over, stopping the elevator. "When were you going to tell me that you had a child?" he asked, staring at the door in front of him.

"I wanted to," Ziva sighed. "My father did not give me a choice. If I were to ever tell, my father threatened to bring me back to Tel Aviv. Gibbs, I cannot take Laila back there. She is not safe there."

"You're staying here," Gibbs assured her, turning the elevator back on. Before the door opened, Gibbs head-slapped Ziva, "That's for breaking rule number 12." Adding, "I know about the undercover mission," when she went to defend herself. Gibbs was out of the elevator before Ziva could reply.

"Boss, the Director wants you two in MTAC, ASAP," Tony said as the two walked toward the bullpen. He looked at Ziva, hoping to find a clue as to what happened in the elevator, but she avoided his gaze.

----------------------------------------------------------

Tony was beginning to drive McGee nuts. McGee looked at the clock on his computer: ten minutes.

"Why are they taking so long?" Tony asked for the umpteenth time.

"Tony, calm down. I'm sure they'll be out soon," McGee sighed.

"McGee! Have they come out yet?" Abby asked, hurrying into the bullpen.

"No, Abby," McGee answered, sighing again. "Guys, it's not a big deal. I'm sure they are just finding out what Ziva knows on the man that hit her," he tried to assure them, but knew there was more to it.

Two minutes later, the three heard the door to MTAC open, and watched as Gibbs, Jenny, and Ziva walked out. Something had happened, that was clear. Gibbs' glare was enough to make anyone want to hide. Jenny looked just as angry, but there was a hint of worry. Ziva, Tony noticed, attempted to conceal her emotions, but he could read her like a book. She was scared and angry, but there was also a hint of resignation.

"What happened?" Tony asked Ziva when she reached her desk.

Ziva began packing her bag, not looking at Tony. "I have been called back to Israel. Mossad has deemed that I am no longer needed here," she explained, hiding her emotions. She knew her father would pull something like this when she disobeyed his order.

"You are needed!" Abby exclaimed, hugging Ziva who just stood there. "You are one of the three musketeers! They stick together. Gibbs, do something. Ziva can't go back to Israel. Mossad cannot do this!" Abby rattled off, seeing Gibbs walk up.

"Sorry, Abby," Gibbs said softly. He had truly tried to persuade Deputy Director David, but to no avail.

"Don't apologize!" Abby said, punching Gibbs' shoulder. "Mossad can't order Ziva to pack up and leave. What about Laila? They can't make a little girl leave all her friends!"

"Abby, I have no choice," Ziva said, beginning to lose control of her emotions.

"Uh, Boss," McGee began nervously and the whole group turned to look at him. "Tony just went up to MTAC," he said just as they heard the door slam.

"Harah," Ziva said under her breath, hurrying up the stairs, followed by the others.

When they reached the room, Tony was already connected to Deputy Director David's office. "Sir, I'm sure you have your reasons for forcing Officer David back, but I know for a fact that I have better reasons for her to stay here," Tony told the older man.

"And, what are these reasons, Special Agent…?" David asked, trailing when he could not recall the agent's name. Normally he would be furious, but this was fascinating. He never had an inferior agent force a video conference with him before.

"Anthony DiNozzo," Tony finished for the deputy director. At that name, Eli David's eyes widened. So this was the man his daughter had become enthralled with. "I am sure you think you know all about me, but you don't. I am not going to sit around and do nothing and let you take Ziva and Laila back. I only just learned about my daughter and you can bet your life that I am not going to let her go. As for Ziva," Tony stormed, releasing all the pent up frustrations he had had for the past few months. "I let her slip away five years ago, and I'm not going to let it happen again. As a wife and mother of American citizens, Ziva is not leaving this country unless it is her own decision. She is one of the best partners that I have ever worked with, and one of the best damn investigators on the NCIS roster. If you feel as if she is no longer needed, then you are gravely mistaken," Tony wound down. Suddenly realizing what he just told the Deputy Director of an agency that could easily order his assassination, Tony gulped.

Behind him, Ziva, Gibbs, Jenny, McGee, and Abby all stood stunned. Ziva was half-proud and half-pissed at Tony. Gibbs and Jenny were still trying to process what Tony had said. McGee and Abby stood there staring. McGee had pulled out his I-phone and was video-taping the whole thing, expecting Tony to get his butt kicked. He was also mentally laying out the whole plot for his next novel, if Tony survived.

"When did this marriage occur?" Director David asked evenly.

"April 29, 2001," Ziva spoke up, walking to stand beside Tony.

"Why did you not tell me?" the man asked his daughter.

"I was afraid," Ziva admitted. "He did not even know until last week," Ziva explained.

"I would like to speak with Director Shepard privately," David said.

Everyone left the room besides Gibbs and Jenny—Gibbs refused to leave.

**Bullpen**

Ziva grabbed Tony's hand and pulled him towards the elevator.

"He's dead," McGee commented as he and Abby watched the elevator doors close. Abby just nodded her head in agreement.

**Elevator**

Ziva pulled the emergency stop switch, and whipped around to look at Tony. "That was the most idiotic, stupidest thing you have ever done!" she yelled. "What were you thinking? I did not tell my father for a reason, and now you bolted it up."

"Screwed, Zeevah," Tony corrected her, immediately regretting it.

"Tony, my father was not happy when he found out I got pregnant after a mission. If my brother had not of stood up for me, my father would have seen me on a suicide mission. When Ari died, I was no longer safe in Tel Aviv. That is why I persuaded Jenny to let me stay here. I do not need you hurt, too. One of the agreements I made with my father was that Laila could stay here with her father. She'll be safer here," Ziva explained.

"I'm not going to let you go. It's too dangerous," Tony told her quietly.

"I do not have a choice," Ziva sighed. She wanted him to understand. This was how life was as a Mossad agent.

"Dangit, don't do this," Tony said, trapping Ziva between his body and the wall.

"Let me go," Ziva said her voice wavering.

"Zee-vah, I can't lose you," Tony admitted, breaking down his barriers. "The whole time you were in the hospital, I was mortified. I thought I was never going to have the chance to tell you how much I loved you. I love you, Zee-vah. Please don't let them take you from me."

Ziva stared at Tony, her mind trying to process what he just said. He loves her! Not trusting her voice, Ziva leaned forward, her lips crashing into Tony's. This kiss expressed all the pen-up emotions the couple had hidden for the past two years.

Breaking for much needed air, Tony leaned his forehead on hers. Ziva placed her hands on each side of his face, gently rubbing her thumb over his cheeks. "If my father orders me to go back, I have no choice," she whispered. "I do not want to leave you and Laila, but if it keeps you safe I will. I love you, Tony."

"How dead do you think I am?" Tony asked, smiling slightly.

"Gibbs is going to have your skin," Ziva smiled back.

"Hide or head," Tony corrected her. Kissing, Ziva's lips one more time Tony stepped back and started the elevator. He continued to hold her hand as they walked into the bullpen.

_Hope you enjoyed it! I should have another chapter up in a few days! TaTa_


	11. Tying up loose ends

_Here is the next chapter for ya'll! Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for the reviews!_

Oh, I have a good idea about a song fic of sorts, but I have no idea how to do it. I don't know enough movies to do what I want to do. If anyone is interested, just give me a yell and I'll tell you what my idea is. Thanks

Gibbs and Jenny stood on the catwalk just out of the sight of the team. "I think it's time the rules were upgraded," Jenny told the marine. "No rule is going to stop those two couples." Abby and McGee were leaning against his desk while Tony and Ziva stood in front of them, hand in hand.

"It's been a moot point for a while," Gibbs explained. "More of a rule for me than anything."

"You can't hide behind your rules, Jethro," Jen said, walking down the stairs. She knew what Gibbs was doing and it frustrated her. "Special Agent DiNozzo, if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I will personally kick you to the curve," Jen said, transitioning into the Director of NCIS. "As for you, Officer David," she said, turning to Ziva, "come to my office. You need to sign a few papers to permanently transfer you to NCIS." Jenny allowed a small smile to appear on her face.

"Yay!" Abby squealed, running over and hugging Ziva tightly. "I knew you wouldn't leave."

"One condition though," Jenny added. "Director David wishes for you to return for a couple weeks to tie up a few strings."

Ziva nodded in understanding. She knew what her father was talking about; every former Mossad agent had to go through a debriefing when leaving the agency.

"Uh, Boss, can you go ahead and kill me now?" Tony asked when Gibbs reached the group.

"If you hurt her, I'll make you wish you've been born," Gibbs warned him. "That goes for you, too, McGee," he added, giving the probie a knowing look. "I want every relationship kept out of the office," he told the whole team, looking at Jenny who smirked.

**That Night**

Laila had been put to bed an hour ago, and Tony had insisted on showing Ziva one of his all-time favorite movies, _McLintok!_.

When the credits rolled across the screen, Ziva sighed, settling against Tony's chest.

"What's wrong, sweetcheeks?" Tony asked, his arms holding Ziva securely against him.

"Something does not feel right," Ziva replied. "Why hasn't Ivansic tried again? It's been almost two weeks."

"I know. We are looking for all the clues we can find. The man's a ghost," Tony said. "I'm not going to let him hurt you. If he comes back, we are ready for him."

"Tony, Laila has never been by herself before. Whenever I went on any missions, Laila stayed with my father, or the babysitter," Ziva explained, turning around to face Tony. "I do not know how she will be."

"She did fine when you were hurt. I'm sure we can make it until you get back," Tony assured her, kissing the top of Ziva's head. "So, when do we get our honeymoon, Mrs. DiNozzo?" he asked, smiling his classic DiNozzo smile.

"Tonight is as good as any to start," Ziva said, standing up and pulling Tony with her. When they reached the bedroom, Tony used his foot to shut the door behind them.

___________________________________________

On the other side of town, McGee and Abby sat in Abby's living room, listening to a new band McGee had found.

"Gibbs knows a lot more than he lets on," McGee said, shaking his head. He never imagined that Gibbs would see what they were refusing to admit.

"Of course, McGee! He's like Superman," Abby said in her usual hyper mood.

"Is it true you have a new tattoo?" McGee asked and Abby smiled.

"Why don't we go find out," she whispered, leading McGee to the bedroom.

____________________________________________

Gibbs sat in his basement, nursing a cup of bourbon. Jen had been right: he had made Rule #12 to protect himself. By making a rule against dating co-workers, Gibbs had hoped to protect his team from the same heartache he felt.

"You really need to learn to lock your door, Jethro," Jenny said, walking down the steps into the basement.

"Is it a requirement for you to come here before heading to one of your fancy dinners?" Gibbs shot back. Jenny's dress revealed just enough of her curves that Gibbs was tempted to forget all about that certain rule. Heck, he could not even remember what rule he was thinking about.

"Actually, I was on my way to a friend's house," Jenny explained, taking her jacket off.

"Wouldn't want you to be late," Gibbs said, picking up his sander and began working on his boat. Anything to keep his mind preoccupied.

Jenny sighed, he was doing it again. "I left to protect you, Jethro. If I had told you that I was being chased, you would have done something stupid. I could not let you get hurt," Jenny admitted.

"We were partners, Jen. Partners look out for each other," Gibbs replied, looking at her before returning to work on his boat.

"I was not thinking right," Jenny sighed.

"You lied to me," Gibbs said, pointing the sander at Jenny before grabbing his cup and taking a large drink.

"I did what I thought was best. You would have done the same thing if you were in my position," Jenny defended.

"Do you know who killed the man? I did. Ducky told me what happened, and I went after the son of a bitch. Now tell me you could take care of yourself," Gibbs told her. "You were unconscious in the hospital. There was no way you could have taken him on your own. Hell, it was luck that I did." He sighed, "I was willing to make a go of it, but you disappeared. You were the one that got away." His voice trailed off when he realized what he had said.

Jenny looked at the Marine in front of her. Not since Europe had she seen Gibbs without his defenses up. "I'm here now," she whispered. "Who else is going to control your stubborn ass?" she smirked.

"I am not stubborn," Gibbs said, rolling his eyes. "I'm just…"

"A Marine," Jenny finished for him. "I've heard it all before," she said, closing the distance between the two. "I know I've done stuff in the past that hurt you. But, we've got another chance to try again."

Gibbs studied Jen for a moment before doing what he had wanted to do since he saw her again a year ago. He closed the space between the two of them, leaning his head down to meet her lips.

______________________________________

Tony sat at his desk trying to ignore the empty desk in front of him and the growing nag in the pit of his stomach. Ziva's worries about Ivansic had gotten to him. The man was still out there probably planning his next move, yet there was nothing Tony could do. The team had exhausted every lead they found. Now it was up to the CIA and Mossad to find him.

"Tony!" Tony heard from beside him. Shaking the cobwebs out of his head, Tony looked at a worried McGee. "What's wrong?' McGee asked, concern showing through his voice.

"I'm fine, McPhil. What do you think could be taking so long up there?" Tony asked, nodding towards the Director's office where Gibbs had disappeared twenty minutes ago.

"You don't think…" McGee started, but trailed off.

"They did have a past," Tony added, beginning to wonder. Both men stood staring at the door.

__________________________________

"Jenny, we have to find this guy before he tries to kill another one of my agents," Gibbs said.

"I have every possible source looking for intel. He has gone off the radar. The CIA believes he is using La Grenouille's group to evade us."

"You've been after that man for over a decade, what's his weakness?' Gibbs asked. "If we get him, we get Kort."

"I'm trying, but he disappeared. None of the intel I have is helping," Jenny sighed, frustrated. Gibbs walked up behind her and held her against him.

"We will get this batard, I promise," he whispered in her ear before kissing her temple.

Jenny stood there trying to think how she could find the man who was after Ziva. A light bulb went off in her head, "Jeanne! She's the only link to La Grenouille that I never had a chance to investigate," Jenny said, turning around to face Gibbs. "A father would not stop talking to his only daughter."

"I'll send Tony and McGee to talk to her," Gibbs said, giving Jenny a quick peck on the lips before leaving the office.

______________________________

"DiNozzo, McGee, go talk to Jeanne Benoit. Find out anything and everything she knows about her father," Gibbs ordered, walking into the bullpen.

"Uh, Boss, you sure?" Tony hesitated.

"You know her better than anyone else," Gibbs told the senior field agent.

"What about Laila? I'm supposed to pick her up in an hour," Tony said, looking at his watch.

"I will get her. Now, GO!" Gibbs barked, hiding his grin until Tony and McGee had left.

**Israel**

Ziva walked down the hall towards her father's office, ignoring the looks she was receiving from everyone she passed. Reaching the door, she received a nod from the secretary. Taking a deep breath, Ziva opened the door. Her father sat at his desk, reading a paper lying in front of him.

"Shalom, Ziva," Eli David said as she shut the door.

"Shalom," Ziva replied, obligatorily giving her father a kiss on the cheek.

"We have captured Daniel Ivansic in Egypt. Officer Rivkin is escorting him back as we speak," Eli said, leaning back in his chair.

"I want to see him," Ziva stated, fire burning in her eyes.

"I figured you would. I will contact you as soon as he arrives," Eli said, handing Ziva a folder. "Here is everything Michael sent me. When you are finished with Ivansic, you are free to go back to Washington."

"Thank you, Abba," Ziva said, truly grateful to her father for the first time.

_I should be winding down soon. I'm not exactly sure how I want to finish it quite yet. I have two different directions I could take. I'm trying to figure out which one sticks to me the most!_


	12. Trouble, trouble!

_Here is the next chapter for ya'll. Thanks so much for being so patient with me! Hopefully I can get some more time to type up what I have been handwriting throughout the week! Thansk for the reviews also! I love them all! Makes me happy when I open my emails and see that I have new reviews/story alerts/favorites!!!_

**  
NCIS**

Gibbs and Jenny stood in front of the large video screen in MTAC listening to the news Ziva had. "They found him with a woman. She was tied to a chain in one of the middle rooms, severely beaten. We do not know who she is, but I thought she looked vaguely familiar. Maybe you would know her," Ziva explained. When the two saw the photo, Ziva saw the recognition on their faces. "I take it you do."

Gibbs stormed out of the room, leaving Jenny to answer Ziva's questioning gaze. "That is Jeanne Benoit. She was the one who took care of you before you were transferred to Bethesda. Tony had also been on an under cover mission, pretending to date her before you were hurt," Jenny explained. "She was supposed to be under FBI protection."

"Apparently she was not. Ivansic had her in that room for at least three days. Our doctors do not know if she will survive," Ziva explained, hiding her new found worry about the new information. Jenny watched as Ziva began having a conversation with someone off camera. "I have to go, Ivansic just landed," she said, a fire in her eyes that startled her friend. Ziva ended the transmission before Jenny could say anything.

Gibbs stormed back into MTAC, "Tony and McGee's cell phones aren't picking up. I'm going to go to the safe house. Abby is tracing their phones right now." Jenny only nodded her head before Gibbs left the room heading towards the door.

**Tony and McGee**

Tony pulled up to the house McGee told him was the right one. "Are you sure this is right?" He asked, looking at the house. It looked like it had been abandoned for a month or more.

"This is the address the FBI sent us. Maybe they want it to look like no one is there," McGee suggested.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Tony said, ignoring the movie connection for the time being. Walking up the sidewalk, Tony felt the urge to put his hand on his pistol, just in case. Something was not right; everything was too quiet.

McGee was the first onto the porch of the house. Just as he lifted his hand to knock on the door, Tony stopped him.

"What?" McGee asked as he was pulled off the porch and practically drug behind Tony.

Tony did not have to answer, right before they reached the car, the house exploded, sending them flying to the pavement.

**NCIS Building**

Jenny, Ducky, and Abby stood in the lab waiting for any clue that Abby's search could give them.

"They can't be hurt," Abby said, hugging Bert. "Why does everyone have to go after my team? Can't we have a perfectly normal day in the office? Tony and McGee are always getting into trouble. You need to do something, you're the director," she said, pointing at Jenny.

"If you haven't noticed, Abby, Gibbs' team seems to do whatever they want to do regardless of what I say," Jenny said, smiling just a bit. When her phone rang, she excused herself and answered it. "Hello?"

"Jen, it's a trap," she heard crackling through the phone followed by gun shots.

"Ziva, what's happening?" Jen asked, immediately worried and signaled Abby to place the call on the speaker.

"Ivansic never left the U.S. He sent us on a wild goose chase," more gunfire. "He is after …" the phone began breaking up, "bomb…"

"Ziva, you're breaking up. What's going on? Are you okay?" Jenny asked, but never received an answer. "Get her back, Abby," Jenny ordered the goth.

"I can't. Her phone lost signal. It was only giving off a faint signal when she called, I traced her to the Tel Aviv airport, but that is it," Abby said, feeling like she let the team down.

"Keep on it, if her phone goes on again, call me," Jenny said, leaving the room. She had to have a little talk with a certain Israeli deputy director.

**Israel**

Ziva ignored the pain shooting through her side as she ran down the road. She had managed to escape the shootout at the airport by jumping into the truck she had driven to the place. Having ditched the truck two blocks later because the engine was shot, Ziva had been making her way to Mossad headquarters on foot. Her cell phone went dead on her when she was warning Jenny, so she could not call her father.

Finally reaching the Mossad building, Ziva stumbled up the stairs. She ignored the looks of those she passed, just like she had that morning. Reaching the lobby in front of her father's office, Ziva found it odd that the secretary was not there. As she got closer to the door, Ziva began hearing voices in her father's office. Looking through the slightly opened door, Ziva saw her father and the secretary tied to chairs in the corner of the office. There was a man with his back to the door, pointing a gun at the two.

"Your daughter is surely dead by now. Soon you will meet her there," the man hissed. Ziva was shocked for a moment when she recognized the man's voice.

Regaining her composure quickly, Ziva slowly opened the door wider, holding her gun up. As the man aimed his gun at Eli David, Ziva spoke up, "I would not do that if I were you, Michael."

Michael turned around surprised. "They told me you were killed."

"Maybe I am," Ziva said her voice icy. "What are you doing, Michael?"

"Making everyone pay for what they did to me," Michael explained.

"I never did anything to you," Ziva said, urging Michael to say more.

"We were to be married, yet you choose infidelity instead. I decided to let you have one more chance, but you chose Washington instead. You chose the bastard that killed your brother over your family," Michael hissed, pointing the gun at Ziva. "Now you claim to be married to an American, and your father supports it. You shall all pay."

"Where is Ivansic?"

"Already in Washington," Michael smirked."

"You will not make it out alive," Ziva said, her strength was disappearing fast.

"I will take the chance," Michael said, pulling the trigger. Ziva jumped to the side hoping to miss the bullet. At the same time, she fired two shots, hitting Michael square in the chest.

A new round of adrenaline crept through Ziva's body. Ignoring the fresh flesh wound on her right arm, Ziva walked to untie her father and the secretary.

"I need to get to Washington," Ziva told her father. "They do not know Ivansic is there."

"You will not get there in time," Eli told his daughter.

"I have to try," Ziva said, leaving the room.

**Gibbs**

Gibbs swerved around yet another car as he raced towards the address Tony and McGee were supposed to be at. His heart sank when he saw the explosion ahead. His gut knew it was where Tony and McGee were, and he pushed the gas pedal further to the floor. Screeching to a stop, Gibbs jumped out of the car, scanning the area for the two younger agents. Their car was parked on the side of the street, its passenger side windows shattered by debris.

_Please keep reviewing on this! I promise I will update as soon as I have a chance! We are very close to 100 reviews, and I hope that we can surpass that number easily! Let's see what ya'll can do with this chapter!!_


	13. He tried to blow me up!

Thanks for being patient yet again! Finals are next week and all heck has broken loose, so I have been extremely busy. I have finally had time to sit down and write this chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

I want to thank Liat1989 for doing the translating a few chapters back! I forgot to add that to the chapter, and I am sorry that it was not sooner!

"DiNozzo, McGee!" Gibbs called out, looking around the scene. Listening closely, Gibbs heard a groan coming from in front of the car. He found McGee lying on the pavement. "McGee, you okay?" Gibbs asked, kneeling beside the Probie.

"Yeah, Boss," McGee managed, trying to sit up.

"Where's Tony?"

"He pushed me down when the house blew up," McGee said, looking around.

Gibbs searched for his senior field agent. "Tony!" he yelled. The man was nowhere to be seen. Pulling out his cell phone, Gibbs called Abby, hoping for a little luck. "Abby, do you have a trace on Tony's cell?"

"It says he is right there, Gibbs," Abby told the man, typing some more on her keyboard.

"I don't see him!" Gibbs said, frantically looking around.

"Boss, look!" McGee said, pointing across the street. Tony has come out from behind the house across the street, pushing a man in front of him. Both looked beat up, but the man was clearly work off, although Tony seemed about to fall to the ground.

Hurrying over, Gibbs and McGee grabbed the two men. "He tried to blow us up," Tony huffed, trying to catch his breath.

"Where is Kort?" Gibbs asked the detainee. The man refused to answer. Sighing in frustration, Gibbs grabbed the man's shirt and drug him to the car.

**NCIS**

"He won't go anywhere," Gibbs told McGee and Tony. "Go down to Ducky and let him check you over."

"I'm fine, Boss," Tony resisted.

"You can barely stand up. Get down there before I have to head slap you," Gibbs glared at the young man.

"On it, Boss," Tony said, jumping out of his seat a little too fast, causing himself to get dizzy. Holding the edge of his desk, Tony waited for the world to stop spinning. Regaining his senses, he followed McGee to the elevator.

**Autopsy**

"Oh my, what happened to you," Ducky exclaimed when McGee a d Tony walked into the autopsy room.

"Someone tried to blow me up again," Tony explained, hobbling over to one of the tables.

McGee explained the rest of the story as Ducky began checking them out. McGee only had a few scratches and bruises from the blast. Tony on the other hand had bruises all over. His eye was already beginning to swell up, but Ducky did not think it was going to swell shut completely.

"You sure got the once over didn't you, my boy," Ducky told Tony.

"You should see the other man, Duck," Gibbs said, walking through the sliding door.

"Did he say anything yet?' Tony asked, turning to look at Gibbs through his good eye.

"He doesn't know anything. Kort used a burn alias to contact him," Jenny explained, standing beside Gibbs. "Abby is doing what she can."

"McGee, go see what you can do to help," Gibbs ordered gently and the Probie left.

"Where is Laila?" Tony asked the couple.

"She is in my office asleep. Cynthia is keeping an eye on her," Jenny assured the young father. She and Gibbs looked at each other, a glint of worry flashing through their eyes.

"I don't like that look," Tony remarked. "What aren't you saying?"

Sighing Jenny tried to think the best way to explain the present situation. "It seems Ziva was ambushed at the Tel Aviv airport six hours ago."

"What!?! Is she okay? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Tony exclaimed.

"I received word from Deputy Director David that she was on her way here, however, neither of us knows when or what plane. Apparently she is trying to hide from someone," Jenny explained.

"Trace her cell," Tony offered.

"It died when she called me. Abby is doing everything she can to find her."

"Okay, so if she left four or five hours ago, then she is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean right now. It's a twelve hour flight usually. Do the math, pinpoint all airplanes leaving Israel for D.C. in that time frame," Tony told the group in the room, pacing back and forth.

"Tony," Gibbs stopped the man's ranting. "No plane left for anywhere on the East Coast." Tony stared at the grey-haired marine, frozen where he had stopped.

"Ziva would not have made it that easy to find her, you know that," Jenny consoled the man. "She knows what she is doing. When she wants to contact us she will."

"Go home, get some rest. Jenny and I will take care of Laila for the night," Gibbs told the agent.

Tony looked between the two with a questioning gaze. Deciding not to say anything, Tony headed for the doorway. "I want to say goodbye to Laila first," he told the group.

**Tony's Apartment**

Tony sat on the couch staring at the blank television screen. Any other day he would have turned a movie on, but today Tony just wanted to sit in the dark silence. Nursing his beer, Tony let his mind drift. He wondered where his wife could be. Knowing her, she could be anywhere. It's all because of that dang Mossad training he thought to himself, taking a drink.

Tony thought back to the first time he met Ziva at the bar in Baltimore. She had caught his eye when she first walked into the car, and knew there was something about her that he wanted to know more about. Now, he was glad he took the plunge and said hello. Tony could not imagine not having Ziva at NCIS. She was the best partner that he had ever had.

Sure Kate had been good, but he and she had spent more time bickering and fighting like siblings to ever develop a close relationship. Ziva, however, knew how to meet Tony's teasing with one better.

Now his wife—man he could not get use to that word— was in danger and Tony could not help. Surely there was something he could do. Anything!

**Somewhere in the U.S.**

Ziva crouched behind the bushes waiting for any movement from the building in front of her. This would end here and now, she decided. Checking the silencer on her gun one more time, Ziva slipped across the yard silently. Reaching the doorway, Ziva paused briefly waiting for any sound coming from the door. There was no evidence that the men inside the house heard her.

Slowly picking the lock, Ziva opened the door just enough to slip through into the room. Reaching the room with all of the men in it, Ziva counted more men that she had expected. Slowly making her way through the room, Ziva used her Mossad training to knock each man into deep unconsciousness. None were the ones she was after however.

Finishing the room she was in, Ziva looked through the other rooms. While she was in one room, however, a light come on the room next to her, followed by hurried voices. Her presence had been detected. She had to finish her task and get out.

Gunshots rang out, and Ziva found herself in the middle of a fire-fight.

Please Review! I hope you enjoyed it. There are only a few chapters left in this story!


	14. Donuts, Old Friends, and Pancakes

_You guys have no idea how happy I am that you have enjoyed this story! I am so happy that ya'll have had the patience to stay with me throughout writing this. Thanks for the reviews!!!! _

**Jenny's House**

Laila was still asleep in the guest bedroom next door to Jenny's room. Gibbs and Jenny sat in the living room silently worried about their younger agents.

"She should have called by now," Jenny worried, rubbing her thumb around the top of her coffee cup. "What does she know that we don't?"

"She'll be fine," Gibbs assured her, putting his arm around her shoulders for assurance. "Has my gut ever been wrong before?"

"Yes, that time in Berlin your gut almost got us killed," Jenny pointed out.

"But it warned us not to go to the party," Gibbs defended and Jenny chucked quietly.

Sighing, she said, "I wish she would tell us where she is. Last time she disappeared her father and I had to pull strings just to keep her out of jail. She does not think straight when being threatened like this. Not to mention they are after her husband and child now."

"Jen, that was before she was on my team. She knows how to control her emotions," Gibbs told her, silently praying that he was right.

**Tony's Apartment**

Tony woke up to the banging on his door. Grumbling Tony pushed himself off of the couch, and stumbled towards the door. "This better be good," he yelled through the door.

"I brought breakfast!" Abby called through the door. "I got your favorite variety of donuts from the baker on 8th street," she said, showing him the bag when he opened the door.

"Abby, that's thirty minutes out of the way," Tony exclaimed. "It's closer to the base than my house!"

"I know, but I wanted to come with a peace offering," Abby explained, bouncing through the doorway in her normal way. "Gibbs told me to come check on you in the morning. He was worried about you. We all are. Don't worry, Tony. Ziva will be home anytime. I bet one of her flights was postponed and she was stuck in some airport somewhere. There was storms in the Midwest last night. I bet she is sitting in the airport in Nashville, waiting. She couldn't call us because the phones were broken," Abby rambled. Tony could not help but smile slightly at the goth.

"You got the jelly-filled ones with frosting and sprinkles!" Tony exclaimed like a little child, when he opened the bag. "Those always sell out fast."

"I know. That's why I was staked out at the front door since two this morning," Abby explained, and Tony just had to give her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Abby, you are the best goth Forensic scientist I have ever known!" he said, sitting down to savor the donuts.

Tony finished the last donut way too soon for his liking. Leaning back against the couch, he let out a sigh. "When will we hear from her?" he wondered aloud.

"Keep thinking positive," Abby suggested, drinking her highly sugared coffee.

Tony's cell phone broke through the silence, jumping up, Tony grabbed the phone. "DiNozzo," he answered, recognizing the 618 area code.

"Tony! How's D.C. treating the D-Man?" a man said from the other side.

"Andy Michaels? How in the hell did you find my cell number?" Tony broke into a grin. "I haven't heard from you in years. How's the flat land weather treating you?"

"I left Peoria almost ten years ago. I moved down south to the hills. I'm not county sheriff in Massac County."

"That's about as far south as you can get in Illinois. It's not even five a.m. out there. What are you doing calling me so early?" Tony asked.

"I've been up all night dealing with a huge raid. Apparently some chick found out about a group of federal criminals holed up in a cabin out in Gabtown. She took out almost twenty men and then called us. I swear she was some crazy ninja the way she took them out. None were killed, just knocked out. We got to the house as fast as possible. That chick was not from around here. She had some foreign accent, almost Middle Eastern."

Tony's ears perked up at this. There was not many foreign ninja fighters around. "What was her name?" he asked.

"Ummm," Tony heard the rustling of papers, "a Ziva David," Andy said, pronouncing her last name wrong.

"Dahveed," Tony corrected him absentmindedly.

"You know her?" Andy asked, surprised.

"Heh, you could say that," Tony grinned. "She's my wife." Abby, who had forced Tony to turn the phone on speaker, had to bite back a squeal.

"You, the non-committing, sleep with every girl, frat boy, are married to a crazy ninja chick who took on twenty men and won," Andy was shocked.

"Trust me; you don't want to call her that to her face. She can kill eighteen different ways with a paper clip."

"Where is she? Can we talk to her? Tell her that we missed her. Laila is staying at the Director's house with Gibbs. I think the two of them are back together," Abby ranted.

"Abs, settle down. Sorry, that's our forensic scientist," Tony explained. "Where is Zee-vah?" he asked Andy.

"That's why I called you. She stole a FBI car and drove off. The FBI agent, an, uh, Agent Fornell, mumbled something about, 'Good luck, DiNozzo.' I thought of you, and decided to call.

"Thanks for calling. You have no idea how relieved I am now. Do you know if she was hurt?" he asked.

"She had bandages on her arm, and was holding her stomach. It was clear she had been through the mill." Tony took a deep breath to center himself. "If she's heading towards D.C. she'll be there in about fifteen hours. What is all this about? Any clue?"

"You don't want to know, Andy," Tony half-laughed. "Let's just say trouble still follows me everywhere I go."

"Take care, buddy," Andy said and the two former partners hung up.

"She's safe! Well, as safe as she can be driving across the country," Abby said, jumping around the room happy. "We have to tell Gibbs and the Director. I bet I can find the car she is driving. All FBI vehicles are embedded with a GPS chip. We have to get to the lab, ASAP!"

Tony did not say anything. He was deep in his own thoughts. Ziva was safe, and on her way back to him. He suddenly remembered that he forgot to ask Andy who the men were that were arrested. "Dangit, we don't know if Kort was in that house or not."

"I can hack into the police report and find out," Abby said, heading towards the door. "Let's go!!"

**Jenny's House**

Jenny. Gibbs, and Laila sat at the kitchen table eating the pancakes that Laila helped Jenny cook.

"Is Ima coming home today?" Laila asked the two adults who looked at each other.

"She will be home soon, sweetheart," Jenny assured the little girl. "What do you want to do today?" she asked, hoping to change the girls attention to something else.

"I want to ride on Uncle Gibbs' boat," Laila said, her eyes lighting up.

Gibbs laughed. "It's not quite ready for the water yet. Why don't you and Aunt Jenny take a trip to the mall? Maybe you can find something special to give Ima when she gets home," he suggested and the little girl nodded vigorously.

"Can we?" she asked, turning to Jenny who nodded her head. "I am going to get my clothes on right now," Laila said, sliding off the chair, and running out of the room.

Gibbs phone interrupted the peaceful silence that had surrounded the couple as they continued their breakfast. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"Boss, we found Ziva. She was in Illinois last night. Apparently she figured out where Kort was hiding out. When the FBI and LEOs got there, Ziva stole a FBI car and hit the road," Tony explained breathlessly. "She's on her way back to D.C."

"How did you find this out?" Gibbs asked, shocked at the news.

"An old partner from my law enforcements days just happens to be the sheriff in the county where Kort was hiding. Fornell mentioned my name somehow, and he decided to give me a call," Tony explained the whole situation. "Boss, Andy said that Ziva was pretty beat up."

"Have Abby…" Gibbs began.

"Trace the FBI car," Tony finished the sentence. "Already on it, Boss. She was with me when I got the call. We are heading towards NCIS as we speak. McGee is already there and is running the search."

"Good job, Tony," Gibbs told the senior field agent. "I'll be there as soon as I can," he added, hanging up the phone and turning to Jenny. "We found Ziva," he told her and explained the whole story.

Jenny let out a deep breath. "Was Kort part of the group they arrested?" she asked.

"Abby is trying to find out," Gibbs explained.

"I will make a few phone calls and see what I can come up with," Jenny said, heading towards her office.

**On the Road**

Ziva drove down West Kentucky Parkway through Western Kentucky. She had crossed the Ohio River about three hours ago, headed towards D.C. If she had not been in a hurry to get back to her family and friends, Ziva would have taken more time to look at the beautiful scenery around her. She had never seen anything like this area before, but she was in a hurry to get home to Tony and Laila. How she missed them!

_Gabtown, Massac County, Illinois is a real place. I live there, actually the real name of the community is Hillerman, but it is nicknamed Gabtown because there used to be a store where the farmers would go and gossip over a warm coal stove. The store burnt down about 10 years ago, I really miss that place! You didn't have to drive 5 minutes just to get a soda! And I have Ziva driving to D.C. the way that mapquest says. I personally think I would rather go Interstate 24, down to Nashville and take 40 all the way to VA and hit some road towards D.C. But that's just my opinion. I've never drove there, except via Springfield, Illinois (a long detour if you ask me! I left my house at 3 a.m. and didn't leave Springfield until 3 p.m.)_

There is atleast one more chapter left in this story! I'm not quite sure if I want to make it all in one or not! Depends on what my fingers type when I write it!

Thanks for reading! Ya'll are awesome.


	15. Home

_Thanks so much for reading this story I hope that you have enjoyed it!!!! Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! I am so thankful you guys have enjoyed this story. I am sorry that it has taken this long for me to update!!!! Please forgive me!_

_The songs mentioned in this chapter are: If It's the Last Thing I Do by Brooks and Dunn and Home by Blake Shelton._

**NCIS**

"What you got, Abs?" Gibbs asked, he and Jenny walking into the lab.

Abby's computer started beeping, "Perfect timing, Gibbs," Abby said, typing on her computer. "The car is parked at a truck stop thirty miles west of Knoxville, Tennessee."

"I will see if I can hack into their cameras," McGee said, typing on the computer next to Abby.

"She drove almost 400 miles in less than eight hours," Jenny wondered aloud, smirking while she shook her head.

"Boss, got it," McGee exclaimed, wheeling around to look at the group.

"Where is she?" Tony asked, looking at the big screen.

"I couldn't get access to the ones inside the store, but that's the car she stole from Fornell's men," McGee pointed at the black car parked in the corner of the parking lot.

The group stood there watching the live feed intently, just waiting for any signs of Ziva. Every time the gas station door opened, they would hold their breaths hoping it was her.

"There she is!" Tony said, pointing at the body slipping out of the door.

"Are you sure?" McGee said, looking closer at the screen.

"I don't know, Probie. I think I would recognize my own _WIFE!_" Tony shot at the boy. "That's the hoodie Ziva took with her," he pointed out.

"Can you zoom in closer?" Jenny asked the two techies. "She's hurt."

"She shouldn't be driving," Gibbs said. "Contact Tennessee State Police, have them pick her up," he told Tony who nodded solemnly.

"Boss, what if she refuses them?" Tony asked, stopping at the doorway on his way to the elevator.

"Tell them to call you," Jenny said, and Tony gave a small grin before leaving.

**Somewhere in Tennessee**

Ziva searched the radio stations as she flew down the interstate. Every station she found seemed to be only playing slow, sad songs. She needed something loud with a beat to keep her awake. Pausing on a country station, Ziva listened to the music for a bit.

_If it's the last thing I do  
If it takes me from Tupelo to Timbuktu  
If it's the last thing I do  
I'm gonna dodge every roadblock, speed trap and county cop  
To get my hands on you  
If it's the last thing I do_

Ziva turned the volume up a little more and listened to the rest of the song. Right after that song, a slower song began. As Ziva reached to change the song, she was stopped by the man's voice belting out from the speakers.

_Another summer day  
Has come and gone away  
In Paris and Rome  
But I wanna go home  
Mmmmmmmm_

Maybe surrounded by  
A million people I  
Still feel all alone  
I wanna go home  
Oh, I miss you, you know

And I've been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you  
Each one a line or two  
"I'm fine baby, how are you?"  
I would send them but I know that it's just not enough  
My words were cold and flat  
And you deserve more than that

Whoever picked the music for this station knew exactly how she felt. No matter what it took, Ziva was _going_ to get back to Tony and Laila, nothing was going to stop her._  
_

_Another airplane  
Another sunny place  
I'm lucky I know  
But I wanna go home  
I've got to go home_

Let me go home  
I'm just too far from where you are  
I wanna come home

Ziva's concentration on the song was disrupted by the sound of sirens behind her. Sighing frustratedly, Ziva turned her blinker on and pulled off to the side of the road. She sat there grumbling as the officer walked up to her window. This was wasting her time.

"License and registration, please, ma'am," the state trooper asked as he leaned towards the window to look at Ziva.

"Here is my license. This is a borrowed company car. I am a Mossad Liaison at NCIS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. I'm sure they can vouch for me," Ziva explained to the man.

"I was hoping it would be you," the man said, straightening up. "I received orders to bring you with me."

"What are you talking about?" Ziva asked confused.

"Central received orders from a Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo to find you and take you into custody until travel arrangements could be provided," the officer explained.

"I do not believe you," Ziva said. He could be part of Ivansic's group after her.

"I was told to give you a message," the man said. "I believe it was, '_Laila tov, cara mia_.'"

Ziva's eyes grew wide with surprise. So it was true, she thought to herself. "Did he say anything else?"

"Just that you would be stubborn at first and be dog-tired."

"He will pay," Ziva mumbled under her breath, getting out of the car.

"Ma'am, you look like you have been put through the mill," the officer said, noticing the bruises all over Ziva's face. "Are you alright?"

"Do not call me ma'am," Ziva hissed. "I am fine."

"Agent DiNozzo also said you would say that. I'm under orders to drive you to the hospital and have you examined."

"I do not need a hospital," Ziva insisted. "Just get me to the airport. I will go to a doctor when I am in Washington."

**Later**

Ziva was anxious, she decided. Her plane was making its final approach at the D.C. airport. No longer did she have to worry about her family being threatened. Ivansic and his men were behind bars.

Gibbs stood at the gate Ziva's plane would be landing at. He could not decide who was antsier, Abby or Tony. Both were pacing back and forth, watching the runway. The whole team went to the airport to meet their team member. The Tennessee Police told them that she had refused medical care, but did not look to be in good shape. Ducky joined the team to check her out. Jenny and Tony had decided that it would be best to keep Laila in the dark about her mother's return, just in case.

"It's landed!" Abby squealed, jumping up and down.

Jenny and Gibbs stood back away from the group. Having talked to Deputy Director David, the two knew somewhat the extent of Ziva's injuries. But, no one was prepared to the sight the saw coming off the plane. Ziva looked horrible. Her eyes had dark rings circling them. Her hair was hung down covering much of her face, hiding the bruises on her cheek. She held both arms stiffly beside her, her hands inside her pockets to keep them from moving. This was not the tough, free-spirited Israeli the team had seen not long ago.

Tony felt his heart break at the sight of his wife in such a condition, yet he was ecstatic to see her there. Walking slowly, Tony went towards her, speeding up as she looked up at him. "Zee-vah," Tony whispered, reaching her.

"Tony," Ziva said, laying her head on his chest, sighing at the comfort even that slight contact had. Tony gingerly put his arms around Ziva's body and held her close.

"You are safe now," Tony whispered into her ear. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," she mumbled not leaving his arms. "I am radish," Ziva sighed.

"Beat, Zee-vah," Tony chuckled. "Come on, let's get you checked out," he said, guiding her over to the others.

_There's the End! I hope you enjoyed this story! I think I liked this ending better than the ones I had in my mind throughout the whole time I was writing this. _

_I have a lot of ideas for song fics if I ever find the time to sit down and work on them. I hope to be able to as soon as I actually have time to breath. Christmas at Kohl's is horrible when you are the check out girl!_


End file.
